


Harry Potter and the Magic of Bonds

by Sapphira_Ruby



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alpha Lucius Malfoy, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Dark Harry Potter, F/M, M/M, Mentor Voldemort (Harry Potter), Multi, No Underage Sex, Omega Harry Potter, Ravenclaw Harry Potter, Slow Build, Underage Kissing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-23
Updated: 2020-11-22
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:34:59
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 23
Words: 92,588
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23807737
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sapphira_Ruby/pseuds/Sapphira_Ruby
Summary: Lucius Malfoy discovers Harry Potter in a bad situation and takes him away from his relatives at age 8.  Little does he know the bright eyed, messy haired boy will become something much more than either of them ever imagined.  Follow along as Harry finds his place in the wizarding world, gets friends and mentors you’d never expect, and finds love in an unlikely place.
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Blaise Zabini, Fred Weasley/George Weasley, Hermione Granger/Theodore Nott, Lucius Malfoy/Harry Potter, Narcissa Black Malfoy/Severus Snape, Neville Longbottom/Luna Lovegood, Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Comments: 213
Kudos: 1499





	1. Prologue - Broken Bonds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rituals, betrayal, and an end.

###  _Saturday, August 2, 1980_

“Oh, I feel so much better now that the re-warding is taken care of,” Lily said to James the next morning. “Our home is protected with the blessings of Lammas, and so few know our whereabouts. I hate that Harry has to be so confined, but then I supposed he’s young enough not to notice. Perhaps I should rather be worried about you!” Lily teased.

“I know, Lily-flower, it’s a weight off my mind as well.” James replied. He knew they were repeating the things they had said the night before after the wardmaster left, but it was just such a relief now that the wards were up. Little Harry was protected with the strength of Lammas-cast wards, and they were all safe.

“And you know you’ll feel even better after tonight.”

“Of course I will, James!” Lily retorted with hints of concern. “I know we love and trust our friends, but every little bit helps. I was so worried when Dumbledore told us we could be targeted due to the prophecy,” she continued, clearly worried, “but now with the protections of Lammas, I feel a little more calm. And I’ll feel even better when I know that should something happen to us, Harry will still be protected from that mad man!” she finished passionately.

“You’re right, as always, Lily-flower,” responded James with a calming smile.

“Naturally,” said Lily, flouncing off to make breakfast.

They enjoyed their breakfast and had a quiet day playing with the baby, reading to him, relaxing and enjoying each others’ company. Just before dinner Sirius arrived to see his precious godson. He got to hold him, and see him trying to smile. He had found some adorable plushies for Harry earlier that morning and was excited to see Harry’s reaction to them. The grim, stag, wolf, and rat were presented with many laughs from James and Lily, and snuggled in next to Harry when he fell asleep after dinner. Harry was only a few days old, but already Sirius would do anything for him, which was why he was at the Potter’s tonight. They would be performing a ritual, one that wasn’t often done due to the extreme nature of the requirements for full protection. Lesser versions of this ritual were somewhat more common, but still not enacted regularly due to the imprecise nature of threats. They told no one, and decided it was better that way. It was a time of war, and the less people knew about the kind of protections little Harry had, the better. 

Once they were finished eating and dusk began to fall, their fireplace flashed green, alerting them to the arrival of their last member. Griphook, their bonded Account Manager goblin, stepped crisply out from the flames, brushing off soot as he exited.

“Good evening,” Griphook stated as he took in those present.

“May your gold ever grow, Griphook,” responded James.

“And your enemies suffer, Lord Potter. As you have requested, this evening’s events have been kept in the strictest confidence. No one knows I have come here tonight to perform a ritual for you,” Griphook stated briskly.

“We thank you for your discretion,” Lily replied. “James, Sirius and I are grateful you agreed to assist us in this matter.”

“You are prepared?”

“Yes,” the three wixen responded.

“You are aware of the requirements to enact the full blood protection?”

“Yes,” they responded again.

“Then let us begin,” said Griphook. They had determined the living room was the heart of this home and held the strongest concentration of magic. There, Griphook distributed twenty-one bundles of white heather and witch hazel to form a large ritual circle. Seven bundles were used for each protector participating in the ritual, and they represented the protection and magic being called on for the ritual. 

Stepping inside the circle of herb bundles, he carefully drew runes using an antimony ritual wand to bolster the protection, leaving their shapes glowing white on the floor. At each of the cardinal points he drew an Algiz (ᛉ) rune for protection. Leaving space for the participants to stand, he drew a triangle inside that circle containing three runes: þurisaz merkstave (ᚦ) for danger and hatred, raidō merkstave (ᚱ) for crisis and death, and Algiz merkstave (ᛉ) for danger and warning. In the very center of the circle he drew sōwilō (ᛊ ᛋ) for success.

Once all the runes were drawn to Griphook’s satisfaction, he began to pull polished stands of rock from magically enhanced pockets, and placed them on top of the completed runes. Over the algiz runes on the cardinal points he placed hematite for grounding to the North, zircon for amplification to the East, agate for stability, strength, and courage to the South, and Sapphire for truth and sincerity to the West. In the inner triangle he placed amethyst for protection and cleansing over þurisaz merkstave, petrified wood for security over raidō merkstave, and amazonite for power and balance over algiz merkstave.

He set four black candles for protection in front of the runes on the cardinal points and three gold candles representing Harry in a triangle opposite the rune triangle. He gestured to the Potters and Sirius to step up as he pulled 3 pieces of wood from his pockets, handing Juniper to James, Oak Heart to Lily, and Oak to Sirius. He picked up Harry from his crib in the corner, placing him in the center on the sōwilō rune. He gestured the adults to their locations; James taking South, Lily West, Sirius East, and Griphook taking North.

He burned cedar and white pine, both for protection, and using the white pine to bolster it with balance and peace. With the same ritual wand used to draw the runes, Griphook lit the black candles in front of each participant as they made their protectorate vow.

As the East candle was lit, Sirius spoke, “I, Sirius Orion Black, vow to protect my godson and blood-adopted son, Hadrian James Potter-Black. I offer this Oak as a symbol of my unwavering strength and endurance,” Sirius set the wood down next to the candle and accepted the gold ritual knife from Griphook, making a small cut across his palm. “I offer my blood willingly in the service of my son, may it protect him from all harm caused by the Dark Lord Voldemort, Thomas Marvolo Riddle.”

James began speaking as Sirius stopped and the black candle before him flared into life, “I, James Charlus Potter, vow to protect my son, Hadrian James Potter-Black. I offer this Juniper as a symbol of my unwavering protection and strength.” Here James paused to place the wood by the candle, accepting the knife from Sirius and making a cut to his palm, “I offer my blood willingly in the service of my son, may it protect him from all harm caused by the Dark Lord Voldemort, Thomas Marvolo Riddle.”

At this, Griphook lit the candle in front of Lily as she said, “I, Lillian Jayne Evans-Potter, vow to protect my son, Hadrian James Potter-Black. I offer this Oak Heart as a symbol of my unwavering protection and wisdom.” She also set her wood down, and accepted the ritual knife from her husband, cutting her palm and continuing, “I offer my blood willingly in the service of my son, may it protect him from all harm caused by the Dark Lord Voldemort, Thomas Marvolo Riddle.”

At this, Griphook lit the candle in front of himself, and accepted the ritual knife, now stained with the blood of all three. He stepped to the center of the circle, and made a tiny cut in Harry’s palm, mixing his blood with the blood of all three protectors. Harry made no noise, but his eyes grew wide.

“With the blood of the protectors, may Magic bless you,” Griphook stated. He then returned to his position and conjured a bowl of ashes out of thin air. “I ask Magic to bless these ashes of the juniper tree, may they provide strength and protection.”

He stepped to Sirius and used the antimony ritual wand to direct the ashes to form sōwilō on Sirius’s cut palm.

“I will protect my son,” said Sirius as he conjured a red poppy out of his magic. “Accept this sacrifice of magic to his protection.”

Magic began to press on the participants as Griphook stepped to James and the two repeated the procedure. By now Magic could be felt in the air, even by the most insensitive. He turned to Lily, tears running down her face as she also underwent the same process, her voice cracking, but her determination never wavering. Griphook returned to his place at the North as one by one, each of the others stepped forward in turn, pressing their cut hand to Harry’s, further mixing their blood, and intoning, “I will protect you.” 

After Lily finished, barely able to see her place due to tears, Griphook stepped forward to Harry once more. With the ritual wand, he drew sōwilō on Harry’s forehead as each of his three parents said once more, “I will protect you.” 

And then all three together, “We will protect you. So mote it be.” 

As they finished, they saw the ash runes in their palms and on Harry’s forehead seem to melt into their skin and their cuts healed. They could all feel tingles as the protection settled into place.

Griphook waited a few moments for the magic to disperse before waving a hand to remove all the ritual pieces and return them to his pockets. Knowing they would all be out of sorts for a while, he inclined his head to the room, and rather than give the traditional goblin farewell, offered the wixen farewell as a show of respect for the sacrifices both already made, and coming in the future, “Blessed be,” he said, and was gone.

The three participants looked at each other and baby Harry, now resting in his mother’s arms, relishing the thought that he would be safe, well protected behind wards, and now protected even in the event of the worst. James, Lily, and Sirius couldn’t bear to think of anything happening to their little Prongslet, and they would do everything in their power to see him safe.

And no one would ever know.

###  _Monday, October 26, 1981_

It was a dark and ominous night. Clouds chased across the sky, roiling and writhing in the thick pressure of the late summer heat, which was hanging on far past the time it had usually shifted into the cooler temperatures of fall. People hastily made their way to their homes, hoping to be inside before the heavens opened and the torrents descended. 

Lurking deep in the shadows, unobserved by all, was a scrawny and bedraggled looking brown rat. It slid through the shadows, never meeting the light except in brief flashes when there was no cover to be had. It was slinking over, under, and through the trash cans, boxes, and general refuse of _civilized_ society, beyond the borders of the softly flickering streetlights, that were unable to drive back the gloom of the encroaching and compressing dark.

Past all the houses and general stores and shops of the small hamlet, undistinguished by anything extraordinary, the rat merged with a particularly deep shadow. If one could have permeated the dark to see what occurred, they would have been shocked as the rat became a rather short, slightly fat little man, with a pinched face, reminiscent of the rat he had so recently been. He stepped out of the shadows hurriedly, and up to the door of a quaint little cottage, lit up like a beacon in the oppressive night.

He knocked thrice on the door, looking over his shoulder, and twisting his hands as he waited to be admitted into the home, and heaved a great sigh of relief when the door swung wide and light bathed the front stoop where he stood.

“Prongs!” the rat man said.

“Wormtail!” responded Prongs. “Come in before you get drenched! We’ve been waiting for you, all the rest are here.”

A great, black dog bounded over and licked the short man, leaving slobber in his wake. 

“Padfoot, you lout, get off of Peter!” said the man who opened the door.

The dog shifted, becoming a tall, lanky man, clearly wealthy, with long, wavy black hair and piercing silvery grey eyes. 

“But, Prongsie, old boy,” Padfoot replied with a grin, “Peter was looking a mite peaky, you know, I had to cheer him up. Marauder's honor and all that!”

A lovely young woman, curly red hair nearly to her waist stepped through the archway to the living room.

“James, my love, what’s all this ruckus about?”

“Oh, Lily,” said James with a loving look in his eyes, “Peter just arrived, and of course Sirius had to welcome him, my sweet,” he finished with a fond look of exasperation towards the dog-turned-man. “Sirius, what do you have to say for yourself?”

“Aw, Lils,” pouted Sirius, his eyes playing for sympathy, “I just wanted to say hello.”

“Well, you’ve said it, now let the poor man in!” said Lily, ushering the three into the room. “We’ve made Account Manager Griphook wait long enough,” Lily directed to the short, pointy-eared creature waiting in her living room with a nod. 

“We’d like to get started now,” she said to Griphook with a smile. The goblin nodded in response and began ordering those present into place. They had already determined the living room was the heart of this home, and so they gathered there.

James he placed at the South point, Lily at the West. In a corner of the room, out of the way, their child, Harry, wrapped in his blanket, and sleeping like a cherub, ignorant of all that was occurring around him. Lily and James looked at him with love and devotion in their eyes, knowing they needed to do this to keep him safe.

One participant, unmentioned till now, though never unnoticed in his garrish robes, was Albus Dumbledore. Griphook chivvied him into place at North as he was the most powerful wizard present and would function as their ground and connection to Earth. Sirius was placed at East, and stepped into place without prompting.

Between these four wixen stood Peter Pettigrew, the man chosen to be gifted with the secret being hidden by the ritual. Long discussions occurred when they had first heard the prophecy, Sirius, Peter, or Remus? Perhaps even Dumbledore himself? But no, Dumbledore was too busy to be coming and going and providing the secret. Sirius would be expected, and therefore he would come under fire. Remus, though much loved by the family, was a werewolf, and while he had wizarding magic, his lycanthropy could interact poorly with the ritual and so he could not be used. Peter was unnoticed, unremarkable, and plain. No one would ever think poor little Peter worthy enough, magically gifted enough, strong enough to be honored with keeping the secret of their location. He was perfect. Sirius would act as a decoy, drawing attention away, and the secret would remain safe with Peter.

The goblin picked up the ritual ash wood wand, lit the end with a fire which did not consume the wood, and held the flame to a sprig of cedar. Once the cedar began smoking, he tucked the wand into a holster on his belt. He waved the now smoking cedar in a spiral motion, completing it with the closed infinity loop. As he waved the ritual cleansing herb, he chanted something too low for the participants to make out, not that it would have mattered as he chanted in Gobbledegook, and only one person present understood the language. But goblins were possessive of their heritage, and so he spoke quietly.

When his chant was complete, the cedar was gone and he drew the ash wand again. The golden wood looked different this time, greyish black, and almost flaking. He walked deasil around those gathered, beginning in the East, and making his way towards the South. At South, he paused, and drew the rune algiz (ᛉ) for protection, shielding, and defense. The ash wand left a greyish-black rune behind, part of the wand returning to the light color of the ash wood. Clearly the ashes of the cedar previously burned had joined with the wand temporarily and come off to form the drawn rune. He stated the purpose of the rune, and all those present echoed him, “Protection, Shielding, Defense.” 

He continued around the circle, pausing to draw kaunan (ᚲ) for knowledge in between West and North, and gebō (ᚷ) for sacrifice between North and East, completing the triangle and each at each pause, he stated the purpose of the rune and the participants echoed it.

He stepped away to retrieve 3 chunks of Walnut and placed them in opposition to the runes, creating another triangle with wood. 

“I call to the Earth to imbue this wood. Let it bring us Clarity.”

“Clarity,” the participants responded.

“Let it bring us Focus.”

“Focus.”

“Let it bring clarity and focus together, I bid them join as one to power this protection. We ask you Mother Magic, imbue this wood, ” the goblin intoned.

When Griphook drew the wand the third time, three flat, polished blue stones, about the size to fit in the palm, floated up and were directed toward Peter in the center of the circle. One went to each hand to hover directly over his upturned palms, and the last was pressed to the center of his forehead. The goblin walked deasil around the circle again, this time distributing a large chunk of zircon to the participant standing at each of the four cardinal points. 

As he handed them to each person, he asked them, “Do you accept this Zircon to amplify the magic in aid of the Secret Keeper?” And each responded, “I do.” Griphook then tapped the top of the stone, and it began to glow with an internal light. Magic began to swirl through the room, and the entire house. Unnoticed by all, bright green eyes opened and watched the path of the magic, touching and tasting the power being wielded in the house.

When all four cardinal points were complete, he moved to the center. “Do you accept the power from this circle into you?”

Peter responded in the affirmative, “I do.”

“Do you accept the aid of the Azurite at your hands to build and aid your concentration?”

“I do.”

Do you accept the aid of the Azurite at your head to build the secret in your memory?”

“I do.”

James stepped forward, conjuring an apple blossom which he extended toward Peter as he stated, “I, James Charlus Potter, Head of House Potter and head of this house, do preference you, Peter Jacob Pettigrew, as my Secret Keeper. To take the secret of my property and location and hide it in your memory for my family's protection, I sacrifice my knowledge of this secret to make it your knowledge. The home of the Potter family is Potter Cottage in Godric’s Hollow, England.” Magic imbued the words of the secret as he spoke.

“I, Peter Jacob Pettigrew, do accept your preference and secret. I will hide your knowledge amongst my own and protect it and you from harm.”

The magic grew. And in the corner, those bright green eyes began to glow.

The goblin and the wixen participants began to chant as one, “Custodi Secretum Fidelius Semper.”

“Custodi Secretum Fidelius Semper.”

Magic spun faster, growing to encompass more and more of the house.

“Custodi Secretum Fidelius Semper.”

“Custodi Secretum Fidelius Semper.”

With each repetition, power grew, the swirl of magic expanded, and bright green eyes glowed brighter and brighter. 

“Custodi Secretum Fidelius Semper.”

“Custodi Secretum Fidelius Semper.”

Their voices were becoming strained from the pressure of the magic growing and expanding around them. 

“Custodi Secretum Fidelius Semper.”

With a final whisper, the magic exploded around them, the property glowed white. It slowly faded to black, all traces of the ritual removed, and the glow in those small, green eyes faded.

Peter stepped forward as the others looked around, confused by their surroundings, and stated in his quavering voice, “The home of the Potter Family is Potter Cottage in Godric’s Hollow, England.”

Confusion drained away, and the participants smiled.

“It worked,” breathed Lily.

“It worked,” responded James, rushing to hug her, lifting her off the ground and spinning around in happiness. “Harry is safe now!” he said with a smile, as everyone looked over at the once-again-sleeping child. 

“Thank you, Albus, for your assistance this evening,” said James, inclining his head to the venerable old headmaster.

“It was no trouble, my dear boy,” Albus said, his blue eyes twinkling.

“And thank you, Griphook, for helping with the protection of my family. May your gold ever grow, my friend.” James said, nodding to the goblin who was packing his things.

“And your enemies suffer.”

And with that the group said their goodbyes and returned to their homes for the night.

###  _Thursday, October 29, 1981_

A man, who was not so much of a man but more a shadow of a man, sat on a chair, that was perhaps a throne, in an unknown location in the dead of the night. His stark red eyes gleamed with madness and obsession.

“I know my defeat is out there! Why can none of you be helpful and FIND HIM!!!” he screamed. Taking a deep breath, he began again in calmer tones, “ Severus has been rewarded most handsomely for bringing me news of my possible demise. He has made his request, and it has been taken into consideration, has it not, Severus? Voldemort asked, his S’s inching towards the sibilant hisses associated with Parseltongue. 

His followers shivered at the hisses, clearly indicating the continued anger of their lord, and most not liking the direction his thoughts had taken of late. His grand ideals for the betterment of the wizarding world, the safety of children, and understanding for the traditions and respect of Magic, where had all of it gone? It seemed to have disappeared into the void of his obsession with a prophecy. And not even a complete one, just three small lines, a partial prophecy, overheard by a servant. 

Severus nodded, “Of course, my lord.”

As their lord readied his wand to curse a follower, any follower as they were all the same in his eyes, a door swung open at the back. A snivelling, rat faced man stepped in and hurried to his spot in the ranks.

“Wormtail, come forward,” the red-eyed man ordered. “What news do you bring for Lord Voldemort, and let us hope it is enough to excuse your tardiness.”

“My lord, I appolo-” Wormtail started to speak.

“News, Wormtail, I want not your apologies.”

“Yes, my lord,” Wormtail said with a bow. “I have done it my lord.”

Voldemort raised an eyebrow.

“The Potters have made me their secret keeper, my lord.”

A cackle was heard from a woman one row back. Long, curling, dark hair, and madness in her eyes proclaimed to all that this woman was Bellatrix LeStrange.

“Lies!” She shouted, cackling again. “Lies, my lord. Pettigrew would never be allowed to be the secret keeper!”

“ _Crucio_ ,” Voldemort spoke as if bored. Stopping the spell after mere seconds, “Remember your place, Bella,” he said with a sneer.

“It’s true, my lord,” replied Wormtail. “We invoked the _Fidelius_ just Monday. I had to wait a few days for them to lower the watch on me to attend this meeting so I could bring you this wonderful news.”

“ _Crucio,”_ Voldemort intoned. “Do not presume to know when you are and are not allowed to tell ME news, Wormtail, nor make claims to its significance. Lord Voldemort is merciful to not kill you for this delay, is he not, Wormtail?”

“Yes, my lord, yes, of course, my lord…” Wormtail nearly tripped over himself to respond.

“However, you are correct. This is good news. You will provide the secret of their location, and we will go after them. By Samhain. I have plans that must be made. Do not alert them to your betrayal, Wormtail, or it will be more than a few seconds of pain I will take from you. Do you understand, Wormtail?”

Wormtail nodded to his lord.

“Their location?” Voldemort questioned.

“The home of the Potter family is Potter Cottage in Godric’s Hollow, England.” 

“Very good, Wormtail. You will attend me on Samhain as we visit this location, just to ensure there are no...mishaps,” Voldemort hissed.

“Y-yes, my lord. It would be an h-h-honor to attend you, m-my lord,” Wormtail stuttered out.

“Very good. Lucius, Severus, stay. We have much to discuss. The rest of you are dismissed!” Voldemort snapped out, and his Death Eaters rushed to do his bidding, none wanting to remain in the spell range of his wand any longer than necessary.

###  _Saturday, October 31, 1981_

Young Harry was a bouncing baby boy, toddling around the house, starting to lisp a few words, and generally getting into mischief. How could he not with all the Marauders around? Just after his birthday, little Harry could be found zooming around the living room and back garden on a small toy broom just his size. It was a gift from his Paddy, and he loved it. He loved it so much, he terrorized their poor cat, and Lily and James had to put away all the breakables when he really got going.

Of course he was also perfectly sweet. At nap time, he cuddled his four plush animals, and snuggled a soft blue blanket. His animals were a wolf, stag, grim, and rat, representing each of the four Marauders and his parents’ dearest friends. The blanket was monogrammed with his initials, well, the ones everyone would expect. Only their account goblin, James, Lily, and Sirius knew that Sirius had blood-adopted Harry the day he was born, and thus now had 3 parents. The HJP was over a white lily blossom, to keep his mother close as well.

But today, all had gone well, and it was getting dark. Children were running through the streets, begging candy from all the neighbors. No one seemed to remember that the Potters’ home used to stand here, or even that the Potters existed at all. So they sat in peace and comfort playing with their son, and enjoying the giggles of the trick-or-treating children floating through the air.

One man, however, was not pleased by the giggles. He sneered at the pumpkins, witches, skeletons, and ghosts. They made a mockery of what should have been a solemn time for the magical community. Any who met his eyes shivered, instinctively knowing he was not to be crossed. One small child said his costume was swell, and nearly tripped running away at the glare he received. The demon red eyes nearly burnt. But no, there was no need for the silly little child to die this night. Lord Voldemort had better prey to hunt.

Wormtail was behind him as always, wringing his hands and nearly disappearing into the gloom of the night. Severus and Lucius were nearby as well, ensuring the little sneak didn’t try to get away. Not that Lord Voldemort expected anything to go wrong. No. He was certain the information was good, a brief look through his servant’s mind had assured him of that. No. It was just concerning that something so small could be his undoing and he wanted no chance anything would go wrong. He would end the threat to him and his goals before it could become a problem.

The small group, which couldn’t immediately be identified as a group, made haste to the location Wormtail had provided. The curtains were open, letting them see in. See in to the homey little scene of a father conjuring colored smoke and bubbles to entertain his small son. The boy’s high laugh could just be heard over the sound of running feet, giggles, and children whining to their parents about eating their candy. James tossed his wand to the side as he swept up his son, and spun him around before handing him off to Lily. While the Potters thought themselves safe, they were relaxed, unknowing their fate was just outside the door.

“Stay here,” Voldemort ordered his lieutenants, “and keep watch.” His eyes slid over to the hunched, rat faced man.

Nods from all three and he was gone through the gate and up the path to the door. He raised his wand and blew it off the hinges, shattering the pleasant scene instantly.

“Run!” screamed James. “Take Harry and go! I’ll hold him off.”

Lily already had Harry in her arms and she ran for the stairs.

“Pathetic.” Voldemort commented, as though remarking on the weather. “You don’t even have your wand.”

James held his ground, silently trying to silently _accio_ his wand to his hand. But it was all for naught.

“ _Avada Kedavra”_ Voldemort spat. A flash of green light and James dropped to the ground, dead where he stood.

Voldemort made his way slowly up the stairs. Scuffing and shuffling sounds met his ears. Clearly the red head was attempting to barricade herself in. 

Voldemort waved his wand, vanishing the door, and flicking the furniture aside with ease.

Lily had clearly just set Harry down in his crib, for she spun around, her wand held at the ready, desperation clear on her face.

“Not Harry, not Harry, please not Harry!” Lily begged, knowing James was already gone.

“Stand aside, you silly girl… stand aside, now!”

“Not Harry, please no, take me, kill me instead-” 

Voldemort raised his wand.

Not Harry! Please...have mercy...have mercy…” tears dripped from her eyes as she recognized her fate. She screamed at the futility of it all. Her eyes flashed with acceptance, with the knowledge that she and her husband were the final sacrifice required to fully enact the blood protection their ritual started nearly a year ago. 

“ _Avada Kedavra.”_

A second flash of green light and she was gone, dropping like a puppet with cut strings.

Harry was crying, sniffling, wanting his mama to pop up like the game they always played. But she wasn’t moving.

Voldemort stared at the _thing_ , this child who was said to be his downfall. He paused for a long moment, staring into those vivid viridian irises.

“ _Avada Kedavra.”_

And the whole world imploded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Custodi Secretum Fidelius Semper = (Latin) Guard the secret faithfully, always.
> 
> Special thanks to: 
> 
> [Ellory](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ellory/pseuds/Ellory) for her pureblood culture series which served as inspiration for my extensive notes on the pureblood houses and how they interact.
> 
> [Samvelg](https://archiveofourown.org/users/samvelg/pseuds/samvelg), author of “The Historical Importance of Runic War Warding in the British Isles,” for the fantastic use of thread magic which I partially used as the baseline for my own take on thread magics.
> 
> [JunjouSlashGirl](https://archiveofourown.org/users/JunjouSlashGirl/pseuds/JunjouSlashGirl) for her fantastic stories, allowing me to read them in advance, and serving as inspiration for me to post my own fanfic.


	2. Chapter 1 - Missing Bonds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Previously: A Blood Protection ritual, a Fidelius ritual, a betrayal, and an end.
> 
> In this Chapter: Introducing Harry, the Dursleys, and the Malfoys.

###  _ November 1985 _

Harry Potter of Number Four, Privet Drive, was proud to say that he was perfectly normal, thank you very much. He was the last person you’d expect to be involved in anything strange or mysterious, because he just didn’t hold with such nonsense, as the Dursleys would say.

...

Well.

...

Most of the time.

…

Alright.

…

Some of the time.

…

OK, really not that often at all.

Harry’s appearance wasn’t strange. He was a bit short for his age, and maybe a bit too skinny. But his skin was clear and light. His black hair was messy, but not out of the ordinary. And certainly nothing a good shower, a brush, and maybe some hair gel wouldn’t fix. His clothes were a bit large, but that was the style these days. His face was nice, but androgynous, in the way of any young child a person didn’t know. And his eyes were a pleasant shade of green.

While a casual glance wouldn’t point to anything very odd or strange about the small 5 year old boy, a deeper look at his face would shock anyone. His eyes were a “pleasant” green, but only if one enjoyed the thought of a horrible villain in a cartoon or movie, or possibly a radioactive slime. His eyes were simply a poisonous, viridian, glowing green. And if that wasn’t enough to startle a person, looking into them would make a man shudder. His eyes were the eyes of a soul that had seen too much, felt too much, and experienced too much for any young child to have ever been exposed to. 

There was no way those eyes were natural.

Harry’s life wasn’t odd. Sure, he didn’t have parents, but he lived with his Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon, and their son, his cousin Dudley. Harry went to school, went home, did his chores, and his homework. At school he was quiet and polite, but didn’t have any friends. But the teachers liked him. He kept out of the way and out of trouble. When Harry was at home, he was also quiet and polite. Harry always did his chores, and was very good at them for his age. Harry rarely went anywhere else. When the family left the house, Harry usually stayed at home. 

When Harry was at home, he was good. Well, Harry  _ tried  _ to be good. In fact, he tried very hard to be very good. But sometimes, Dudley would run into him, and he’d fall into something, and that was always Harry’s fault. Sometimes, he wouldn’t get to have breakfast or dinner for several days after one of these episodes. If he broke something when he fell, they would definitely lock him up, and Harry didn’t want that. So Harry did his best to avoid his cousin. 

He went to great lengths to stay away from Dudley. He would do all the outside chores he could for Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon. He often watered the flowers and picked the weeds, trying to avoid his family’s notice. But sometimes Dudley would come find him anyway, and Harry would run. But boys will be boys, they’re so active at that age. 

No one knew his parents were tall. No one knew he had started cooking many of the meals. No one knew he didn’t get to eat the meals he cooked, or many other meals for that matter. No one knew that if he didn’t complete all his chores he’d be locked in his room. No one knew that his room was the cupboard under the stairs.

To the world, Harry was normal.

But Harry could do things. He could do things that no one else around him could do. And he knew those things made him special. So he did the cooking and cleaning and yard work. He dealt with the cupboard and lack of good food. Harry did all these things because the Dursley’s wanted Harry to be normal. And normal meant Harry was good. And good meant less punishment from the Dursleys. 

But Harry knew he was special.

And one day, everything changed.

Not that Harry knew that of course, as busy, broken down, and starved as he was. But change it did, and things began moving that would impact things for everyone. Both Harry, and the Dursleys, but also an entire world of which he yet knew nothing.

Because on that day, that otherwise completely normal day in November, one Lord Lucius Malfoy, of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Malfoy, spoke to his bonded goblin Account Manager, Gornuk, about his new investments. And one of those investments just happened to be Grunnings, the company Vernon Dursley worked for as a director, selling drills.

Now Lucius was a wizard, and usually, he would be entirely uninterested in anything muggle. But the goblins had sent him prospectus from several muggle companies, and quite frankly, the opportunities were astounding. It was so inexpensive to invest in muggle companies, especially due to the exchange rate between their currencies, but there were. So. Many. Muggles. The returns were immense. 

And so Lucius, Lord Malfoy, of the Sacred 28, who had never had anything to do with Muggles before, found himself deciding to visit one of his investments. Grunnings. A visit where he was introduced to head director, Vernon Dursley, a whale of a man. A man who boasted of his wife’s skill in the kitchen (Petunia, she’s grand, a real chef, oh yes, her tea society loves her!) and his son’s academic prowess (My Dudders, strapping young lad, just turned five in June!). Dudders? Lucius sneered internally. What sort of name was that for a boy? And really, he was five, how much could they really tell? Not like his little Draco, also five, whose tutor was already working with him on reading, writing, and learning basic math.

However Lucius found himself intrigued. So he wheeled and dealed, coddled and stroked, and poured his not inconsiderable amount of charm and charisma into getting a dinner invitation with the Dursleys. Not because he liked muggles, of course not, no. But because if he was going to have to do business with them, he’d better learn how they worked. What their likes and dislikes were, how they spent their free time, their hobbies. He needed to know everything he could about the average muggle, and this rotund man seemed a good place to start.

Lucius plotted and schemed his way to a dinner invitation in 3 weeks’ time at the Dursley’s residence, Number Four, Privet Drive, Surrey. Vernon was only too happy to oblige the man who now funded more than half the company. Mr. Grunnings, the owner, would be so proud if Vernon could encourage further investments from the man. If Vernon had known what would happen in the years to come, it is wondered if he would have waited so long, or would never have invited Lord Malfoy at all. But he didn’t, so he couldn’t, and things progressed as they had, with no one the wiser that life as they knew it was about to change.

###  _ December 1985 _

Tonight was the night. 

Petunia was dressed for the evening, a voluminous apron covering her clothes, for she must be immaculate to meet her dear Vernon’s work acquaintance. A very important one, as he’d mentioned every day for the past three weeks since inviting the man and his family for a small dinner party at their home. Dudley had been freshly bathed, combed, starched, and frilled in a suit and bow tie, which privately, Harry thought might just pop right off his neck, as his face was already turning red and the ribbon did appear to be straining. But a red Dudley meant a screaming Dudley, which Harry didn’t want.

So he turned back to the stove where he was stirring the soup for Aunt Petunia, careful of his left hand which he had accidentally set on the burner when he was trying to reach before Petunia so kindly brought him a stool. Harry’s face was flushed, but because of the heat, and not due to an imminent temper tantrum. Dudley had been told to be on his best behavior. Of course, Dudley didn’t really know what that meant, so his mummy told him that if he were very quiet and only spoke when someone spoke to him, she’d get him some ice cream and a new toy the next day. Temper tantrum averted.

Harry knew what his best behavior included. There would be no toy or ice cream for him. He would spend the evening serving, helping Aunt Petunia with the meal in the kitchen, and then pretending he didn’t exist in his little cupboard under the stairs. Of course that would mean he couldn’t turn on the light tonight. Even though the light bulb had been broken for as long as he could remember, and wouldn’t turn on for anyone else, whenever he flipped the switch, the light would turn on. He wouldn’t be able to read his book, the one that Dudley received for his birthday and Aunt Petunia had attempted to read to him once before he ripped it out of her hands and threw it at her. Harry had seen it slide under the couch after bouncing off Aunt Petunia’s face and had snuck into the parlor to retrieve it when the family was out for dinner one night. His teachers said he was very good at his letters and words, and he enjoyed going through the book and finding the ones he recognized. He could recognize almost all of them now, and was working on a list to take to his teacher of the ones he didn’t know yet so he could read the whole book. But without the light, he wouldn’t be able to see his book, or write his list on the scrap piece of paper he took from the trash.

But that was normal. So he’d help Aunt Petunia prepare the dinner, and maybe he’d get a piece of bread and cheese to go with his cup of water before they sent him to his cupboard. And if not...well, he’d been hungry before.

###  _ A few hours later _

It was 6:15 pm and the Malfoys were due at 6:30. Harry was still in the kitchen finishing up the dessert while Aunt Petunia went to make sure Dudley was still her charming baby boy, and hadn’t gotten anything on his suit. She stepped into the kitchen to ensure everything was ready for the evening.

“Boy!” she snapped out, “is everything ready as I told you?”

“Yes, Aunt Petunia,” Harry replied. “The hors d'oeuvres are in the refrigerator, ready for serving. The roast is in the oven on warm and is also ready to serve. I’m nearly finished whipping the cream for your dessert.”

A triple knock sounded through the house.

“Fine. Your meal is on the table, you finish that cream, eat quickly, and get to your cupboard. Make sure you aren’t seen!” Petunia hissed as she stepped out of the kitchen to answer the door.

Harry could hear their greetings as he finished whipping the cream and put it away in the refrigerator so it would be chilled by dessert. He quietly sat down at the table to eat his piece of stale bread and hard cheese. He gulped down his water, and as quietly as possible, put the dishes in the sink to be washed later.

He could hear the conversation from the parlour. Knowing the doorway to that room could see the door to his cupboard, he resigned himself to waiting until they adjourned to the dining room. He hid in the corner between the refrigerator and the outside door, where his stool was, so he would be hidden when Aunt Petunia came in for the hors d'oeuvres. He would sneak out a bit later.

The door swung shut behind his aunt as she exited the kitchen. She had leveled a glare at her nephew, but continued on her way without saying anything. Harry was grateful for the reprieve, but knew it would only last as long as there were guests in the house. He couldn’t hear the conversation very well, but he listened for footsteps, and when he heard them moving to the dining room placed himself by the door to make his escape as soon as he heard the chairs scrape signalling they had been seated. He’d have to be quick so that Aunt Petunia didn’t see him when she came in for the soup and salad. 

He wasn’t sure how he managed it, but he did. He opened the door on one side of the kitchen just as Aunt Petunia opened the other. He dashed out, opening the door to the cupboard silently, sliding in, and closing it with hardly a click behind him. He laid down on his small mattress and prepared to go to sleep. He figured a small nap would help him when his Aunt inevitably woke him later to wash all the dishes.

###  _ Prior to the dinner party, Malfoy Manor _

“Narcissa,” Lucius spoke as he knocked on his wife’s bedroom door. “It’s nearly time to leave.”

“I’m ready, Lucius,” Narcissa replied, opening the door to her husband. 

They weren’t in love in the traditional sense, Narcissa was a beta, but she was his best friend. They had been betrothed to marry shortly after Hogwarts. Lucius had presented as an alpha, but was unable to locate an omega to suit him, and so his parents, despairing for the fate of the Malfoy line, betrothed him to the third daughter of the Blacks, a good family with strong magic, in hopes that they would produce children for the line. 

“Come, my flower, let us check on Draco before we leave.”

“Of course. I know you said the Dursleys invited him along as well, but I’m just not comfortable allowing our son around muggles.”

“It will be fine, Cissa, they will understand.” Lucius set his wife’s mind at ease. They had decided to tell the Dursleys their son had recently been sick and they were worried about him passing it on to the Dursley’s young son. Of course wixen couldn’t get the same illnesses as muggles, but the muggles didn’t know that, and didn’t know they were wixen at all.

They two made their way to Draco’s room. His naming was apt as he was enamored with dragons. He had murals on two walls of a scene from a dragon habitat with various dragons going about their lives in paint. The other walls were plain, his furniture sitting in front of them so as not to detract from the magical art. His ceiling had been charmed to show the stars outside, regardless of time or the weather. 

The doting parents quietly opened his door, peeking in to see Draco playing dragons with a few of the house elves.

“Draco,” said Lucius, “It’s time for your mother and I to go.”

“Mother! Father!” gushed Draco, jumping up from the floor. “I don’t want you to go. You must stay and play dragons with me!”

“I know you want us to stay son, but we talked about this.” Narcissa cut in, heading off the whining that was sure to begin. “The muggles don’t know anything about magic and we just can’t risk you in their world just yet. Perhaps after you’re seven and have a bit more control.” She patted his hair, and placed a kiss over his brow.

“Yes, mother,” Draco said with a pout.

“Now, Dragon,” Lucius commented with ease, “you stay here and play with the elves. They’ll make sure you have dinner at the usual time. I believe I heard something about dragon fingers…” he said with a wink to Tansy, Draco’s nanny elf. 

Tansy took the cue, “Oh yes, Master Draco, we’s bes having Dragonsies fingers at supper, and chocolate marshmallow tartses.”

“Yes, well,” Lucius put in, “we will come in to check on you when we get back. And, if you behave, tomorrow, you’ll be allowed to work with me at my office.”

“Really, Father??! Really!?!” Draco confirmed, eyes lighting up at the prospect of spending the whole day with his father.

“Of course, son.” Lucius replied. “Now, enjoy your evening.” He stepped forward and enveloped Draco in a hug, Narcissa right behind him with a hug and kiss.

“Blessed be, Father, Mother.” Draco offered, formally saying goodbye.

“Blessed be, son,” Lucius replied.

“Blessed be, my little dragon,” said Narcissa. And Draco returned to the elves and his dragons while Lucius and Narcissa exited their home, and walked to the edge of the anti-apparition wards so they could apparate to Surrey.

“Ready?” Lucius checked with Narcissa, holding out his arm for her to take.

“Of course,” she replied, anchoring her arm with his as he spun on his toe and whisked them away to Surrey.

They arrived in a small park, just down the street from their destination, and while hidden from view, waved their wands to transfigure their clothes into something appropriately muggle. Lucius’s robes became a tailored black suit, silver vest and tie, while Narcissa’s became an elegant evening dress, not too formal, and black. Diamonds sparkled at her ears and neck, subtly indicating their wealth. Her evening wrap was edged in white fur, definitely classy, and not overstated.

They made their way to Number Four, Privet Drive, and quietly marveled over the lack of distinction and small size of the accommodations they passed. The lack of magic was also a bit discomfiting, but they were well able to handle it. As they drew near the small home, Narcissa’s eyes narrowed, the only sign of her dissatisfaction.

“Do they truly live here?” She questioned her husband.

“Indeed,” he responded.

“When you said they were well off for muggles, I never expected their home would like  _ this _ ,” she said in a whisper, waving her hand in an incredulous arch.

“I know, my sweet, I know. But I need to know how these muggles think so I can utilize their numbers to increase our wealth,” Lucius responded in kind. He was not overly pleased to be here himself, but needs must.

Lucius raised his cane, and knocked thrice on the door. They heard the click of heels on a polished floor, and the door was opened by an average looking woman, with a long thin face, and though she was smiling, it looked rather pinched. Not knowing her well, they didn’t realize that was her usual expression, and were somewhat put off by the initial encounter. 

The woman gestured them into the home, and with overdone obsequiousness said, “Welcome Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy to our home. I am Petunia Dursley.”

She then nodded towards her husband who had come up behind her, “And of course you, Mr. Malfoy, know my husband, Vernon Dursley. And this is our son, Dudley, who is five,” she said, pointing out the boy who was holding his father’s hand.

“Vernon, dear, didn’t you say they had a son near our Dudley’s age?” Petunia questioned, not seeing a child with the two in front of them.

“Yes, our son Draco,” Narcissa responded, “he has been ill a few days, and while we hoped he would be able to attend this evening’s gathering, he was still a little under the weather. I hope it isn’t too much of an inconvenience.”

Petunia tittered, “Of course not. I’m so sorry to hear he’s feeling unwell. I do hope it isn’t catching…”

“It’s not,” Lucius put in quellingly.

“Please, allow me to take your coat,” said Petunia to get past the awkwardness of standing in the doorway.

Narcissa handed over her wrap, which Petunia saw hung carefully on the rack, as Vernon guided them into the parlor. 

Petunia went into the kitchen, hoping the little freak had finished everything so he could return to his cupboard. He had, thank goodness, but that didn’t stop her from freezing him in place with a harsh glare as he sat next to the wall and the refrigerator on his stool. She pulled the appetizers out of the refrigerator, glared at the boy once more, and flounced out of the kitchen to her guests.

“Have you heard about the drill bit? Actually, it's too long. I wouldn't want to bore you,” Vernon had just finished his drill joke. The Malfoys chuckled halfheartedly. The passed a few minutes eating the hors d'oeuvres and sipping drinks Petunia obligingly prepared from the decanter set off to the side. Conversation was rather stilted, centering on Vernon’s accomplishments at work, Dudley, whose accomplishments didn’t seem much like accomplishments to the Malfoys, and Petunia’s gossip about the neighbors. The Malfoys didn’t have much to contribute seeing as they had no neighbors, didn’t really care about drills, and could tell their little Draco was so far ahead of this boy they couldn’t even compare.

At least the social portion was over quickly, and they moved into the dining room. Petunia brought in the soup and salad course from the kitchen. As she set the dishes on the table, Lucius and Narcissa exchanged a look. Both had noticed a slight tingling on their skin. They made it through the first course with no mishaps, and on to the roast with vegetables. The tingles increased to a prickle down their spines. Lucius raised an expressive eyebrow at Narcissa, who gave an imperceptible nod. There was clearly magic in this home. The question was where and how. They hadn’t felt anything earlier, so it clearly wasn’t the Dursley’s. When dessert was brought out a fruit and whipped cream concoction that would please the most finicky, the prickles turned into a wave that washed over them both leaving goose flesh in its wake. 

Lucius was now more intrigued than ever. The man had given no indication of knowing anything about magic, Lucius had felt no magic, had seen no aura to indicate that anything magical or magically related should be occurring in this house. Narcissa knew that look on his face, the one that said he had a puzzle that he just  _ had _ to solve.

After dinner they sat and sipped coffee, making further uncomfortable small talk until small Dudley began yawning at the table.

“Oh, my,” Lucius said, making a show of looking at his wristwatch, “is that the time? We must be going. We do want to check on our Draco before bed.”

“Of course you want to see your little boy,” Petunia gushed as she gathered Narcissa’s hands with her own. “It was lovely to meet you and have you in our home. I hope we meet again soon.”

Lucius and Vernon were shaking hands and making manly noises about the food and seeing each other at the office.

As they left the dining room, and passed the parlor, Lucius’s gaze was drawn to a small door he hadn’t noticed previously. It was three quarter size, and set under the stairs. Normally this would be a space for storage and so he was unsure why it had garnered his attention. As he and Narcissa passed it however, the prickles they had felt at dinner grew in intensity. Clearly there was something magical in there.

Of course now was not the time to investigate, so both Lucius and Narcissa shuttered their curiosity behind polite society smiles, made their goodbyes, and left the small home. They hurried to the woods where they apparated away, and made their way quickly inside the manor. They checked on Draco, who was soundly asleep, clutching his stuffed dragon with Tansy ever watchful from her blanket in the corner of the room. Lucius and Narcissa nodded to her as they left the room.

As they made their way to their wing of the house, they gave mutual agreement to discuss the strange magical feeling later. It would allow both of them to evaluate the feeling and see if they could find any reference to anything similar in the library. 

And so the evening passed quietly away, Lucius and Narcissa scouring the library for references to feeling magic. Unbeknownst to them, a small five year old boy was being shaken awake in a cupboard, and hauled to the kitchen to clean up the mess generated by their small dinner party.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HP is still owned by JKR and I'm not making any money. 
> 
> Thank you to all of you who left Kudos!
> 
> I hope you like the chapter, and feel free to leave comments, just know that I don't really care if you don't like it, and flaming and/or trolling will not be tolerated. Also, don't post this to other sites, that's plagiarism (STEALING!) and it's wrong.
> 
> Now that that's out of the way, I've got 12 chapters written so far and I'm still not to Harry's first year at Hogwarts, so this story is likely to be rather long. It got a bit away from me as my original chapter outline had about 20 chapters and I'm already 6 or so chapters longer than I originally planned for the events to occur. I'm going to *TRY* to post a chapter a week, but that will only last as long as the muse stays with me, so no promises. 
> 
> Thanks for reading and hope you enjoy!


	3. Chapter 2 - Family Bonds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Previously: Introducing Harry, the Dursleys, and the Malfoys
> 
> In this Chapter: A dinner out and a conversation with the Malfoys

###  _ Spring 1986 _

The holidays had passed peacefully away for the Dursleys. But not for the small boy in their care. Vernon’s sister, Marge, loved her bulldogs, and one of the particularly mean ones had chased Harry after Marge gifted him a box of dog biscuits for Christmas. Poor Harry was nearly unable to get away from him, but, running near a tree, he jumped and found himself sitting in one of the higher branches. Aunt Marge hadn’t called off the dog until sometime after midnight, as the family enjoyed seeing Harry shivering with cold up in the tree.

But pass they had, and life returned to normal on Privet Drive. Vernon went to work at Grunnings, Dudley and Harry went to Primary school, and Petunia kept a weathered eye on all the neighbors’ comings and goings. It was nearing the end of March, however, when Vernon brought home a piece of news to his wife and son. 

“Mr. Malfoy has invited us to dinner at Sorrel on April 5th.” Vernon announced when he arrived home from work that evening. “He said he enjoyed our fine dinner here, but wanted to take us out in appreciation for my hard work increasing sales at Grunnings.”

“That’s wonderful, Vernon!” replied Petunia excitedly. She had heard about Sorrel but none of their friends or neighbors had been able to go as yet. She would be the first. It was a gossip lover's dream come true!

“Will their son be there this time?” asked Dudley. “It was so booooring last time.”

“I think so, son,” replied Vernon. “He was getting over being ill last time, remember?”

“I wasn’t listening to you guys, it was BOOORING.” said Dudley.

“But Diddy-dums, you were so good. We should get ice cream again, Vernon, our Dudders was such a grown up gentleman,” pressed Petunia. She was hoping they’d see someone she could brag to while they were out.

“Of course, pet,” replied Vernon. “We can go right now. BOY!” Vernon shouted. “Get out here this instant!”

Harry came in from where he had been doing laundry in another part of the house. “Yes, Uncle Vernon?”

“We’re going out for ice cream now, and YOU,” Vernon pointed right in Harry’s face, nearly knocking his glasses right off his nose in the process, “will stay here.”

“Yes, Uncle Vernon,” Harry replied. It did no good to ask for ice cream or to go with them. He never got to go, and never got any treats.

Vernon grabbed Harry’s shoulder and pushed him into the cupboard, locking the door once he was inside. Harry waited until the door closed behind them and the house was silent before flicking the light switch, flooding his small cupboard with light from the broken bulb. He pulled out the new book he had been reading, this one from Christmas, and another of Dudley’s discarded items, as well as his scrap paper just in case. He liked reading and the teachers were impressed with his progress. Of course this book was no challenge for him, at school he was reading books with no pictures, but it would help him pass the time.

###  _ April 5, 1986 _

The evening of the dinner at Sorrel had arrived. Harry was again locked in the cupboard under the stairs while the family went out for the evening. He had only been given a cup of water as the Dursley’s weren’t feeling in a generous mood. Lord Malfoy had told Vernon that dinner would be his treat, and as they knew the restaurant was quite expensive, they were only too happy to give their consent. But that didn’t translate to more positive feelings towards their unwanted freak nephew.

The evening started well, they all arrived at the restaurant within a few minutes of each other. Lucius and Narcissa were dressed in their preferred muggle mode of dress: understated, but wealthy. Vernon and Petunia had purchased new dress clothes for the occasion, and Petunia was quite proud of her rather ostentatiously floral spring dress.

Draco was in attendance this time, having done no accidental magic for a full week two weeks prior to the dinner to earn the privilege of being out amongst the muggles. Draco wasn’t particularly looking forward to the evening with Dudley, who, from his parents' words, he took to be dreadfully dull and nearly half-witted. But he had wanted to see some of the muggle world, and was trying to be involved in anything he could with his father so he would be prepared to take over the family business in the future. He loved spending time with his mother, enjoying the shopping and spa treatments, and having people fuss over him, but he saw no reason he couldn’t do those things and handle the business as well. Hopefully the muggle boy wouldn’t drive him to distraction at dinner. His parents were evaluating his manners this evening as well. And it wouldn’t do for the Malfoy scion to present himself in anything less than the perfect light, even if it was only for muggles.

Dudley was present, in a new suit this time. He had gained another stone since their previous dinner party and the old one wouldn’t fit. He had popped the button on his pants, and nearly split the seat, when they tried. His parents had promised him a TV for his room if this evening went well, but Dudley wasn’t sure about the whole thing. The boy, Draco, had a weird name, and he was looking at Dudley funny, which Dudley didn’t like.

Lucius and Narcissa were both hyper-aware, focusing on every little change in sensation around them. The family library had yielded no insight for the strange physical effects encountered at the Dursley residence, and so they were using this evening out as a test. Would they feel anything here in the blatantly muggle establishment, surrounded by nothing by muggles? Lucius had surreptitiously used his ministry contacts to ensure that the location he selected for the dinner had no possible muggleborns nearby that might affect their attempts to ascertain the stimulus of their previous physical response. Neither was sure if they were most hoping for something to occur, or if they would rather nothing did. Lucius, however, was of the opinion that it was something specific to that cramped little house and more specifically the cupboard under the stairs. Narcissa argued against that for form’s sake, really, Lucius could be so insufferable when he was proven correct, but privately, she was almost certain he was right.

Vernon and Petunia were delighted with how the evening was going. They were dressed in nice clothes, out of the house, and the freak was at home where he couldn’t reflect poorly on them or their son. And best of all, the evening was free! They perused the menu and exchanged what they thought were sly glances at each other, noting the expense. Petunia was gathering impressions and descriptions to lord over her acquaintances. Vernon was hoping to talk about drills.

An outsider looking at the table would clearly be able to see the distinction. Where the Malfoys were all cool elegance and class, the Dursleys were a tawdry imitation, clearly attempting to move beyond their means. Nowhere was this more apparent than when looking at the two boys, seated next to each other, and looking complete foils. Draco was poised, precise, and polite whether he was eating his food daintily, or conversing with his mother or Petunia when a question was directed to him. Dudley was a horrible contrast, scarfing his food down with no care for the fine linens or china. Flecks of food made their way onto his clothing, while Draco continued to look as perfect and pressed as he had upon arrival.

Their conversation was nearly as stilted as the dinner party at the Dursley home. They really had next to nothing in common. Narcissa was proving her worth as a diamond hostess, engaging Petunia regarding fashion, the weather, and her son. Lucius was utilizing his practiced charm to keep Vernon entertained, when he wasn’t stuffing his face. Of course the small portions on the plate made the Malfoys wonder if the Dursleys were even tasting the food, the men having inhaled each dish in two or three bites, and Petunia taking such small bites that three quarters of her meal was taken away. They were much better at disguising their smirks to each other, Draco letting his parents know he was appalled at the situation, and his parents commiserating this experience.

But what they were hoping for (or not) never occurred. None of the Malfoys felt anything like the magical tingles, prickles, or shudders that touched them in the Dursley’s residence. Draco had been told about the feeling, in hopes that if he felt it, he would know what it was, and not to react. Lucius was more intrigued than ever. A puzzle, a mystery, a conundrum. He nearly couldn’t wait to employ his skills of keen observation and deduction in an attempt to decipher this new, glorious riddle. Even though it would mean he’d have to deal with the muggles, he just couldn’t forget the feeling of that magic caressing his skin.

And so the evening ended. Disappointingly for the Malfoys, while the Dursleys were quite pleased. They could almost see their social status increasing as people would see them in such a restaurant, and how well their son behaved, never realizing that the people who saw them pitied the Malfoys for being in public with them. They never noticed the looks of disdain they were receiving throughout the night.

###  _ Malfoy Manor _

“Father, are all muggles like that?” asked Draco when they returned home.

“I have not had much opportunity to interact with many muggles, but they seem a relatively good representation of the muggles, yes,” responded Lucius.

“Their manners were terrible!” Draco commented.

“Yes, well, it is my understanding that they do not follow such strict standards for behavior as we utilize, my dragon,” Narcissa interjected.

“It is something of a deterrent to working with them as they are unaware of the standards of behavior to which we are accustomed.” Lucius sat in his preferred chair in the drawing room, snapping his fingers for a brandy from one of their house elves. “But there are so many of them, it is worth the discomfort in order to make money from them, Draco.”

“Of course,” Draco nodded, sitting near his mother on the settee. “But father, I thought you said there would be magic?”

“No, Draco, your father said that there  _ might _ be magic. We explained how we felt something when in their home, you remember?” Narcissa clarified.

“Yes, Mother.”

“Well, it appears that whatever gave us that feeling was not present at this dinner,” Lucius responded. “We will have to return to their residence and see if we can feel the same thing or anything new.”

“What about your Aura sight, Father? Could you not see anything with it?” Draco questioned curiously.

“In all honesty, I had not anticipated feeling such a thing in a muggle neighborhood. By the time we noticed it as something strong enough to possibly be something I could see, we were not in a position to look around their entire home to discern the source. And when I utilized it this evening, I saw nothing at all.”

“It was an unexpected occurrence. I certainly didn’t have any indication of there being enough magic anywhere nearby to have required the use of your sight, Lucius,” Narcissa commented.

“But how would something strong enough to feel not be present? Isn’t magic everywhere?” Draco asked somewhat petulantly. He didn’t understand how something could be strong enough to be felt, but not felt equally the whole time. Never having been exposed to muggles or how magic coalesced or dissipated in non-magical environments, he was quite confused by the situation.

“Yes, son,” Lucius explained patiently, “in Diagon Alley, or any of the wizarding areas, magic is everywhere. The population of wixen and magical creatures is high enough in these places that the shed magic both from the general magical shed of those with magic engaging in everyday living, active household wards, and from the magical residue from active casting remains gathered. It is a similar situation with Malfoy Manor. We are magical, we own magical creatures, and we are comfortable here, so our excess magic and casting residue stays and saturates our environs.”

“Malfoy Manor has been with the family for nearly the full 28 generations, and nearly all of them have lived in the manor for at least some portion of their lives,” Narcissa added. “Over 1,000 years of the family’s magic has gathered in this specific location. It is why our home has a touch of sentience, similar to Hogwarts. Of course Hogwarts, with the presence of so many magical children and powerful teachers has more sentience than any other building or construct in our world, but it is all due to residual magic concentration.”

Lucius took up the explanation again, “In non-magical areas, however, that excess magic doesn’t have anything to concentrate around. So after a while, anywhere from seconds, to a few hours, depending on the strength of the wixen or creature in question, the magic will dissipate. The fact that we felt nothing on entry, and more as we were leaving, is cause for some intrigue.”

“Naturally, we would not have been sensing our own magical excess, as we are familiar with our own magic, and it would not have caused the type of reaction we experienced,” Narcissa continued.

“So when did you feel it exactly?” Draco pressed.

“Well,” Lucius paused in thought, glancing to Narcissa for confirmation as he continued,” I  _ thought  _ I felt something when Mrs. Dursley brought in the hors d'oeuvres, but it was so slight, I thought it perhaps a draught, or some other quirk of the muggle home, and dismissed it as unimportant.”

“Hmm,” Narcissa pondered. “I did not notice anything then, but with your sight, even when not active, you feel so much more than I.”

“But for certain we felt something at the starter.” Lucius stated with surety. “It was definitely a tingle across my skin, and definitely magical in nature. I believe we exchanged glances when that occurred, my dear?”

“Indeed we did, Lucius,” Narcissa confirmed. “The soup was decent at least, and the salad fresh, if a little plain, and I remember being rather surprised to feel anything at all in what had, up to that point, been a particularly mundane home. ”

“And then the prickles at the main course. Definitely stronger, still not enough to activate my aura sight, but certainly more noticeable,” Lucius continued their progress through the meal.

“Oh yes, it was momentarily uncomfortable, even for me with my limited magic sense,” Narcissa replied.

“But the dessert,” Lucius nearly groaned at the remembrance. “It was like a wave of magic caressing my skin. I’ve never felt anything like it. I did activate the sight then, but saw nothing out of the ordinary. Of course with the way the food disappeared into the black holes which function as mouths for those two...gentlemen…” Lucius trailed off, a look of disgust marring his handsome features.

“I know what you mean, dear. The amount of food consumed by those two, well, it was obscene,” Narcissa agreed. “But the magic was definitely strongest at the dessert.”

“It was their house elf!” Draco exclaimed excitedly.

“This was not house elf magic, nor could a house elf generate the kind of power we felt,” Lucius disagreed.

“Well…” Draco thought, “a servant then.”

“Possibly, but then why would Petunia serve everything rather than have the help do so?” Narcissa questioned. “And where on earth would they have housed a servant? That house was barely large enough for them!”

“And the cupboard. As we were leaving, that  _ cupboard  _ across from the parlor,” Lucius sneered the word,” was radiating magic. It certainly wasn’t before, when we arrived, or I would have felt it then. We walked past it into the parlor, and I definitely didn’t notice it until we were leaving.”

“House elf…” Draco singsonged. “They love small spaces, like cupboards.”

“Dragon, darling, there was no house elf magic in that home. You know your father would have noticed that immediately, and we would not be discussing the strange occurrences.”

“Fine,” Draco pouted. “But it has to be a servant of some kind, otherwise you would have felt the magic with something other than the food.”

“You’re probably right, son,” Lucius consoled his son, taking a sip of his drink. “We’ll just have to get another invitation to their home, and try to locate the source then.”

“Off to bed, my dragon, it’s late,” Narcissa said, opening her arms for a hug.

“Good night Mother, Father,” Draco said as he dashed from Narcissa to Lucius for hugs, before running off to bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy birthday to my husband, and Happy Mother's Day this weekend to all the moms. In honor of both events, a new chapter!
> 
> [Sorrel Restaurant](https://sorrelrestaurant.co.uk/) is a real restaurant near Surrey, England, though I do not believe it was in existence at the time I portray it in this story. I have never been to England, and therefore cannot give any sort of recommendation as to the restaurant, but I found it on TripAdvisor, and the website is included here for any who are interested.


	4. Chapter 3 - Hated Bonds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Previously: A dinner out and a conversation with the Malfoys
> 
> In this Chapter: Chores and magic, a second dinner at the Dursleys, and more Malfoys

###  _Early October 1987_

Tired.

Very Tired.

Exceedingly Tired.

That is how Harry feels all the time. His relatives have really piled on the chores now that he’s 7 years old. While before he was doing some of the work every day around the home, now he is doing all the work around the home. And he’s so tired.

Harry had been sitting outside in the sun pulling weeds for at least a couple of hours since school got out. He talked to the snake that lives under the rose bushes for a little while, but the sun had started to set, and the snake went back to his hole where it was warmer. He talked to the last of the hydrangeas and dahlias, they probably won’t last another week, he thought sadly, already missing their bright colors. And he tended to the first of the chrysanthemums, already popping out of their small buds and into bloom. They didn’t talk back to him like the snakes that have come and gone from Aunt Petunia’s garden, but the breeze made their bright blooms nod at him as the sun kissed their pretty faces, making him feel like they understood his troubles.

Aunt Petunia finally called him in after the sun was fully down, and Harry was shivering with cold. He looked down at his clothes to make sure he didn’t have any dirt or leaves to brush off before he went inside. He didn’t, which he was pleased about as he just wanted to get in where it was warm, but he didn’t know how, seeing as he had been watering, weeding, and pruning for at least 4 hours. He had noticed in the spring that some of his clothes seemed to handle his outside work better than others. He could spend all day in some of his clothes and they wouldn’t have a speck of dirt or a stain on them. He didn’t understand how it was possible, but he was thankful all the same as it made laundry much easier for him, not needing to soak stained or muddy clothes before washing.

But tonight, even though he wanted to go back inside where it was warm, he knew it wouldn’t be a good evening. He didn’t anticipate getting any dinner, and was pretty sure he’d wind up locked in his cupboard before it was all over. 

Harry and Dudley had been back at school for a few weeks now, and Dudley had prevented Harry from making any friends...again. His teachers still liked him, but he still didn’t have anyone to hang out with. Which was why Dudley and his friends had cornered Harry at recess and tried to hit and kick him several times. Harry was scared, since he knew Dudley could hit...Hard. but when he spun around quickly to see if he could get away, he found himself not looking at the rubbish and recycling bins behind the school, but rather found himself standing on the roof. He gingerly picked his way over to the edge, and looked down, seeing Dudley and his friends talking over each other at the teacher, who had been coming to see what they were all doing behind the school. Pretty Miss Williams was very confused by the story the boys were telling her regarding something to do with Dudley’s cousin, Harry, and how he had been hiding by the rubbish bins and then suddenly disappeared. 

Miss Williams had been concerned and began looking around for Harry, who had wanted to stay hidden until Dudley’s group left in hopes of the Dursleys not finding out about this new strange thing he had done, when Piers Polkiss noticed him looking down on them from above. Piers had pointed and shouted, “He’s up there, Miss Williams!” and she had been shocked to see him on the roof. Especially because the only roof access from the outside was on the other side of the building, and there was no way he could’ve gotten there without someone else seeing him. 

At any rate, the school had called the Dursleys, and Harry had been taken home and told to work in the garden until they called him inside. He had been somewhat concerned they would leave him outside all night, but perhaps his Aunt's fear of gossip about their family had kept him from that. Not that whatever was about to happen would likely be much better.

As he entered the house, Aunt Petunia pulled him directly into the kitchen and slammed the door behind him. She shoved him towards the stove and said, “Get going with dinner, my Dudders is hungry.”

“Yes, Aunt Petunia,” Harry responded. The only safe response as far as he was concerned.

Harry had been helping Aunt Petunia in the kitchen for several years, first with washing dishes, then small parts of cooking, and now he was cooking nearly every meal. How he found the time to do all his homework was a mystery to all of them, including Harry, when he was doing all the cooking, cleaning, and outside work for the family. But he was, so at least he wasn’t at trouble in school as well as with his family.

After he served dinner, which, as he had suspected, he got no part of, and cleaned up when the family was finished, Uncle Vernon pulled him into the parlor.

“BOY!” Uncle Vernon yelled, turning a rather bright shade of red. “What do you mean by this...this...this freakishness!”

…

Harry couldn’t answer because Harry didn’t know what had happened.

“We told you no funny business! And what have you done?!?” Vernon was turning a most unbecoming shade of puce by this point. “Two years ago, you turned your teacher’s hair blue, last year jumping into that tree, and now you’ve gone and wound up on the roof! What do you have to say for yourself?!?” Spittle was flying as Vernon finished his short tirade, breath heaving, and sweat beading on his forehead.

“But I didn’t do anything, Uncle Vernon! I turned around to take a piece of trash to the rubbish bins (here Harry judiciously edited his story, because any suggestion of Dudley causing a problem was met with contempt, and longer punishment), and when I turned around I wasn’t by the bins, I was on the roof. I didn’t mean to go up there I promise!” Harry hastily got out, trying to head off the explosion that was bound to occur anyway.

“We swore,” Vernon looked at Petunia, “We swore when we took you in there’d be none of strangeness is our home. Clearly you’ve forgotten your place, and how grateful you should be that we didn’t just send you to the orphanage like all the other mongrel brats,” Vernon huffed out.

“Go to your cupboard, and no meals for a week,” Petunia spat out.

“But I didn’t do anything!” Harry tried one last time, knowing it was futile.

“Two weeks!” Petunia shrieked. “There will be no _freakishness_ in my home!”

“Yes, Aunt Petunia, Harry replied dully, turning around and trudging to his cupboard. As soon as he was inside he heard the lock click from the outside. Vernon lifted the little grille flap and said, “Stay in there and think about what you’ve done.”

After the Dursleys went to bed that night, Harry waited about an hour to be sure they were asleep, before he flicked on his light, and set to work opening his cupboard door. He had to concentrate really hard, but sometimes, when he really needed to, he could get his cupboard door to open, even if it had been locked. That was what he was trying to do tonight. He needed to finish his homework, he knew the Dursleys would work him to the bone for the next two weeks, and he needed some food to keep up his strength. After a few minutes of concentrating, he put his hand on the doorknob and twisted. He heard a small click, and the door opened.

Harry heaved a great sigh of relief. At least he managed to get out this time. Now all he had to do was figure out what things he could easily keep in his cupboard so if he couldn’t steal anything while he was cooking, he’d still get something. He wasn’t so worried about school days, having the lunch program helped with that, but weekends were terrible if he couldn’t get something to keep him going. He always managed somehow, but he certainly didn’t want to if he didn’t have to. So he set about gathering things that he could keep for a couple of weeks like granola bars, nut mix, dried fruit, and a fresh apple and orange. He couldn’t take too many fresh things as they would go bad, but Vernon and Dudley wouldn’t touch any of that stuff, and since Aunt Petunia had started sending him for the groceries, he could replace them and she’d never know. He also found a couple of packages of crisps and biscuits. He couldn’t take all of them since Dudley liked those, but he could take a few for a treat, so he did.

He snuck his haul back into his cupboard, and focused hard again as he turned the handle once more. He heard the snick of the lock engaging, and sighed. It was going to be a long two weeks. He grabbed an apple, and got to work on his schoolwork.

###  _Early November 1987_

Great. Another dinner party with the Malfoys. Harry was so tired of these dinner parties. They did sometimes go out for dinner with them as well, but more often than not, they were having dinner at Privet Drive. He was so tired of all the work heaped on him for the sake of them. Snooty rich people. Bah. Probably wouldn’t know the serviceable side of a frying pan if it hit them in the face, Harry thought. It just meant he would have to clean the house top to bottom, make sure the yard was presentable, cook the meal which Aunt Petunia would get credit for, serve, and clean up. And he wouldn’t get to eat any of the food either. That certainly hadn’t changed since the first one.

So Harry cleaned, and scrubbed, and swept, and vacuumed. He mowed the lawn, watered the flowers, weeded the flower beds, trimmed the bushes, and washed the windows. The Dursleys were going to make him paint the fence, but decided it was too cold and the neighbors would talk if they had him outside doing that. Whenever the Dursleys couldn’t see him, he’d focus, and a rag would scrub without him touching it. That made the work go a bit faster. He could do one thing while the...scrubbing rag?… did another. And somehow, he managed to get everything done by the day before the dinner.

Harry had been cooking all the meals for several months now, and Aunt Petunia had decided they needed some variety. And so she bought cookbooks. Ostensibly for herself to try new recipes, but really, for Harry, because she certainly wasn’t going to cook if she didn’t have to. While it meant that the cooking got more complex, Harry didn’t mind so much. He enjoyed cooking surprisingly, combining this with that, stir it a bit, cook it like this, and _et voila_ , a fantastic meal. So Harry put together quite the menu for the evening. 

He had decided on an Italian theme, and had made dishes to fit. Vernon and Petunia had the alcohol covered, but for the food, Harry was in his element. He went with a general antipasto platter of olives, smoked salmon, a hard salami, pate, fresh mozzarella, asiago, pepperoncini, and mushrooms with some focaccia bread. Then for the main meal, he started with an Italian soup: chicken and potato gnocchi in a creamy base with some vegetables for balance. Followed by a fresh green salad with berries, nuts, feta cheese, and a raspberry balsamic vinaigrette. For the main, he made a lasagna, chicken parmesan, and fettuccine alfredo. He was going for a real tour of Italy. This was paired with homemade garlic bread which he had made from scratch, infusing the bread dough with garlic, and brushing on a fresh garlic butter spread. For dessert he had tiramisu and mascarpone. After dinner they could have tea, coffee, or brandy, and hot chocolate for the children. He had wanted to have espresso and biscotti, but there was no way for him to prepare the espresso.

His job was to prepare the food, allow Petunia to serve the antipasto and Campari in the parlor while he set up the dining room for dinner, and then retreat to the kitchen to clean up as Petunia removed plates and empty dishes. Unfortunately, he had not quite finished setting up the dining room when the family adjourned there to sit. He dashed back into the kitchen quickly, but Lucius caught sight of the movement, and felt a fascinating fluctuation of magic as he disappeared from the room.

“Who was that?” he questioned his hosts. 

“Our nephew, rather deranged. Hates new people. We try to keep him secluded for his own safety.” Vernon replied gruffly.

Given the discussion with his family after the dinner out, and after subsequent visits to the Dursley home, Lucius had been employing his aura sight with varying levels of success around the Dursleys. His eyes were therefore glued to Petunia, as he caught a glimpse of her aura turning the faintest shade of an olive-brownish green. Ah, Vernon was lying about something, and Petunia knew it. 

Extensive use of his aura sight had provided answers and yet more questions. Petunia appeared to be a squib. Lucius could just barely get a read on her aura, and it was usually better if she had strong feelings about the subject. Vernon was clearly muggle, as Lucius could get no reading at all from him. Dudley looked to be on the low side of a squib, getting fewer readings from him than Petunia, though, Lucius supposed, it could also be his age.

But Petunia clearly knew that Vernon’s statement about her nephew was a fallacy, and so Lucius had one more thing to think about.

“I see,” he responded after an uncomfortable pause.

“I’d like to meet him,” Draco chirped, noticing the tension, but not understanding the source.

“You can’t.” Petunia hurriedly stated. And then, as if realizing she had been too abrupt, “He’s being punished for stealing from the grocers, and has been forbidden from this party. He’ll be eating in the kitchen then returning to his room.”

“Oh,” Draco responded, with a bit of a pout. He had also felt the flare of magic and was interested to meet the boy, who looked a bit younger than him, but maybe only by a year or so, he thought, judging from the boy’s size.

Lucius and Narcissa shared a glance as the color surrounding Petunia had only gotten brighter the longer she had discussed her nephew. Clearly something was not right.

They sat down to eat and Petunia began rattling off the dishes for their meal. Narcissa was somewhat impressed, the dishes looked of much higher quality than some they had partaken of here previously. And when they began eating, the wash of magic was immediate, and intense. 

Lucius, who was more sensitive than Narcissa, could clearly feel the correspondence between the boy who had so unceremoniously disappeared at the start of their meal, and the magic which was clearly present in all the dishes on the table. Lucius realized the boy had prepared _all_ the dishes and it was all he could do to not send a patronus to his dear friend Severus to perform _legilimens_ to see what else the Dursleys were doing to that poor magical child. The poor magical child who was clearly powerful if the latent magical excess in the food was anything to go by.

Draco nearly fell off his chair with the first bite, so steeped in magic it was, and only the steadying hand of his mother on his knee kept him in his seat with the power now rushing through him. He locked wide eyes with his father, and Lucius gave a short nod to indicate he understood how Draco was feeling.

Narcissa could also feel the power in the food, but was better able to disguise her reaction, knowing from how her husband had stiffened and Draco had flinched that it would be intense. She merely continued to eat, enjoying the wash of magic, less powerful for her as she could sense it less, and the wonderful flavors of the food. 

“This is marvelous,” she commented to Petunia, who blushed lightly at the praise.

“Thank you, I do enjoy cooking and have been of a mind that Italian food sounded good for this evening,” Petunia responded with a light laugh.

Lucius’s eyes narrowed at the continued muddy green hue of Petunia’s aura, wondering what else they would lie about this evening. He was beginning to regret fostering this relationship as he didn’t want his son exposed to this sort of behavior until he was better prepared for it. Of course his son was attending work with him occasionally, and they always talked about duplicity in business, but this was the first time he had been exposed to such things in a friend or family setting. Lucius could only hope that his son’s aura sight hadn’t fully manifested, and therefore he might not be seeing all the lies occurring before they could discuss the situation at home.

Petunia rose to remove the dinner dishes and bring in the dessert. As the kitchen door closed behind her, they faintly heard her hiss at the boy, “Take that dessert out there, CAREFULLY, and say hello to the Malfoys, then get back in here. I don’t want you to mess up our evening, but they’ve seen you now.”

The reply was too quiet to hear, but moments later Petunia returned to the room, holding the door open for a young boy who was entirely focused on the perfect plates of tiramisu held in his hands.

He set a plate in front of Lucius and Narcissa, and with eyes glued to the ground, said in a very quiet voice, “Good evening Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy. It is very nice to meet you.”

“Good evening child, what is your name?” Responded Mrs. Malfoy.

“Harry,” he whispered, eyes never leaving his hands.

Lucius reached out a hand to shake, and squeezed a bit, startling Harry into looking up. “Good evening, Harry, it is a pleasure to meet you,” Lucius purred, taking in the bright, nearly glowing, green eyes hidden behind atrocious black-framed glasses, before noticing the scar on his forehead, and nearly jumping in shock. He school his expression back into polite lines as he shook Harry’s hand once more, and released the child.

Narcissa and Draco had seen his reaction, but as neither could see Harry’s face, were unsure what exactly had happened. They both resolved to question Lord Malfoy about it when they returned home.

After greeting the Malfoys, Harry darted back into the kitchen and began washing dishes. He knew he’d be punished for the Malfoys seeing him, he didn’t want more because the clean up wasn’t complete.

“Please excuse him,” Petunia attempted to smooth over the awkwardness, ”as Vernon said earlier, he isn’t fond of new people.”

After dessert was finished, the Malfoys beat a hasty, though perfectly polite and elegant, retreat. They had much to discuss.

###  _Malfoy Manor_

“Father/Lucius!” Draco and Narcissa exclaimed together upon their arrival at Malfoy Manor.

“I know exactly what you want to know,” Lucius responded, somewhat more composed now that he had an hour or so to think about it. The boy, that child they had cooking that entire meal…” Lucius trailed off, unsure how to break the news to his wife and child that the boy...the boy…

“The boy is Harry Potter,” Lucius finally said.

…

Silence and wide eyes were the only immediate response.

“What?” Narcissa finally spoke into the silence. “That child is...is Harry Potter? But...How?”

Her normal elegant eloquence nowhere to be found in the face of such a shock. Lucius nodded, understanding his wife completely. Even with the extra time he had to digest the situation, it was still shocking. Draco was worse, formal manners gone, mouth hanging open as he tried to understand.

“But he’s magical,” Draco finally got out.

“I know,” Lucius stated baldly. Shock had torn away all their manners, political masks, and genteel reserve. “How is the savior of the wizarding world in a cheap muggle hovel, forced to prepare meals like that, and who knows what else,” Lucius spit out, sneering at the thought of a magical child, any magical child, being treated the way he could see Harry was treated.

“Can anything be done?” Narcissa asked, concern for the child clearly showing on her face.

“I don’t know,” Lucius responded. “I just don’t know.”

Draco looked back and forth between his parents, never had they not been able to answer a question. Understanding that something was needed to break their swirling, cycling thoughts, Draco decided to interject.

“Well, at least I got my aura sight,” he said as if commenting on something of no import whatsoever.

Two shocked faces turned towards him with a snap.

“WHAT?!?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still don't own HP, still no money
> 
> Thank you to the [British Flower Collective](http://www.thebritishflowercollective.com/whats-in-season1) for the handy list of what’s in season and when for the UK!


	5. Chapter 4 - Planning Bonds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Previously: Chores and magic, a second dinner at the Dursleys, and more Malfoys
> 
> In this chapter: Introducing Severus, a conversation with the Malfoys, and a conversation with the goblins

###  _ Mid-December 1987 _

Several weeks after the dinner party with the Dursleys, Lucius was pacing the receiving room after dinner one night, waiting for his oldest and dearest friend, Severus, who also happened to be Narcissa’s love. Lucius and Narcissa had been betrothed straight out of Hogwarts, and while they had been very good friends, had not wanted to be married. Lucius because he was an alpha and had wanted time to find his omega. Narcissa because she wanted to go into healing, and hadn’t wanted to deal with family during training. But the nature of the betrothal was absolute, and the wedding contract required an heir at the soonest possible moment. Knowing neither of them were truly attracted to one another, they had gone to Lucius’s friend Severus for potions to assist them with the creation of the Malfoy heir, and the fulfillment of their marriage contract. Having known both of them for years, and understanding the ramifications should no heir be forthcoming, he assisted them. And when it was confirmed that Narcissa was carrying the new heir, he had been present for the healer’s appointments throughout the process, neither Malfoy trusting anyone else to make the potions required for Narcissa’s delicate pregnancy. While Lucius was an alpha, and alphas were very virile with omegas, alphas and betas had more difficulty in creating a child. This necessitated a number of extra fertility enhancing potions, potions to assist Lucius in his completion with the knot, and even more potions for Narcissa to have as little pain as possible, as a beta could not handle an alpha’s knot unprepared. 

Being successful in the first stage of generating a pregnancy was not their last hurdle. While both female betas and all omegas were built for carrying children, Narcissa, unfortunately, was not. Her organs had developed sufficiently enough to ensure conception was possible, but they were not quite developed enough to successfully sustain a full pregnancy. Her twin, Bellatrix, had similar fertility issues, and she and her husband Rudolphus had never managed to conceive prior to their being thrown into Azkaban after the torture of the Longbottoms. The Malfoys were exceedingly grateful to Severus and his skill with potions to ensure Narcissa could carry their child as long as possible, and while he was born a month premature, the healers and Severus’s potions had assisted in his full development and continued good health.

As Severus had been intimately involved throughout her pregnancy, and Draco’s continued ill health at the beginning of his life, he and Narcissa had developed a deeper friendship, and after some time, it had deepened to love. Lucius was fine with this development, never having loved Narcissa romantically after all, and Severus and Narcissa were good for each other. Severus spent as much time as he could at the Manor, being with Narcissa and his godson whenever he could get time away from Dumbledore and his ridiculous requests.

But for now, Lucius was pacing, waiting for his friend, and wife’s lover, for an entirely different reason. He knew that Lily Potter had been a sister to Severus in their youth, and even their falling out at the end of 5th year had not had irreversible consequences. They had reconciled in their 7th year, after James had gotten together with Lily, and she forced the two sides to back off each other. The Marauders didn’t like Severus, but had tolerated him a bit, for Lily’s sake. So Lucius knew that Severus would want to know what was going on with Lily’s son.

The fireplace flared green, Severus stepping out from the floo gracefully, and waving his wand to remove the soot. 

“I received your message, Lucius,” he began speaking as soon as he was clean, knowing otherwise Lucius would take far too much time with pleasantries if allowed. “What is it I can do for you?”

“I am not yet certain, my friend,” Lucius responded somewhat vaguely. “But we have much to discuss. Draco and Narcissa are waiting for us”

The two men exited the receiving room, and went down to the family parlor where Narcissa and Draco were waiting for them.

Settling themselves, the house elves handed around drinks, and left the tea service on one of the low tables near the group. 

“What has happened?” Severus started, after all the hugs and hellos were complete. Lucius and Narcissa shared a look, silently deciding who would speak first, when Draco beat them to it.

“We met Harry Potter!” 

Severus’ black eyes widened and his expressive eyebrow rose at the child’s declaration. 

Lucius sighed, but picked up the conversational kneazle which had metaphorically been set amidst the pixies. 

“Indeed,” Lucius said dryly. “That is not quite how I intended to tell you, but Draco is correct. We have met Harry Potter.”

“And oh, Severus, we think he’s been abused!” Narcissa interjected quickly, knowing her love would overlook the slight social faux pas of cutting off her husband.

“WHAT?” The potion’s master exclaimed. “Abused? Are you certain?” He looked to Lucius again for confirmation.

“Nearly so, yes,” Lucius confirmed. “As you know, I began making investments in the muggle world a few years ago, and on a whim, I decided to meet some of the staff at one of them. I…  _ befriended _ …” he said with a curl of his lip, “a muggle man, and received an invitation for my family to dine at their home. We have dined with them occasionally, both at their home and out, but that first visit sparked a bit of a mystery. Both Narcissa and I felt magic in what should have been an entirely muggle home.”

Narcissa was nodding along to this recitation, so Severus focused back on Lucius as he continued the tale.

“During the appetizer I thought I felt a spark of something, but it was so faint, I brushed it off as unimportant, a draft, or some other quirk of the muggle residence I had not yet come in contact with. It increased during dinner, at which point Cissa felt it as well. But the strangest thing was the increase in intensity of the feeling as we left the residence, passing by a small closet, or cupboard under the stairs.”

Lucius paused here to take another drink. Severus, seeing the tightening in both Lucius and Narcissa’s eyes, took a fortifying sip as well.

Lucius continued, “we dined at a restaurant the next time, and felt nothing. That led us to believe that whatever it was we felt was something contained at their home. So we nurtured the... _ friendship _ … and have dined with them numerous times, always feeling the magic at their home, and never when out with them in public.” Lucius took another fortifying sip of his brandy, knowing that what he had to reveal next was likely to set his friend on a rampage. 

“Last week we attended another dinner at their home, and when we entered the dining room, a small child was making a hasty exit into the kitchen. The magic was much stronger in the food this time, leading us to conclude that the child is the one who prepared it. The wife of my associate had the boy bring in dessert, after telling us he had been banned from the dinner due to stealing, and introduce himself. He said his name was Harry. I thought nothing of it till I grasped his hand for a shake, and the magic washed over me with such intensity, I believe I squeezed the young man’s hand, and he looked up at me. Green eyes, nearly glowing, and the scar right there on his forehead.”

Severus’ grip on his glass had tightened throughout this tale, to the imminent danger of the expensive crystal. His knuckles were white when he spit out, “And you mean to tell me that this  _ muggle _ family is housing the savior of our world?”

“Yes,” Lucius responded succinctly.

“And who is this muggle family?” Severus said, suspicion growing in his mind.

“The Dursleys, one Vernon, Petunia, and Dudley Dursley of Number 4 Privet Drive.”

CRACK

The fragile glass Severus had been holding shattered. A house elf popped in to clear away the shards, and placed a new glass on the table in front of him before popping away.

“Petunia. The old man put him with Petunia. PETUNIA! Petunia Evans loathes magic, nearly scarred Lily for life with her vitriol. Petunia.” Severus shook his head, sputtered out his thoughts, forgetting the Malfoy family’s presence entirely.

The rambled mutterings of his friend clued Lucius in to what was going on. Harry had been left with Lily’s muggle sister and her husband, and not been taken in by a wizarding family as all had been led to believe.

“You said he cooked the meal you ate there?” Severus questioned.

“Well, we believe so. I certainly didn’t see him cook anything, but his magic was in every dish we were presented with,” Lucius responded.

“Did the magic seem…” Severus paused, thinking of what word would be appropriate to the situation, “Positive?” he finally settled on.

“I think so,” Narcissa said. “It certainly didn’t feel negative or angry when I was eating.”

“It felt good,” Draco put in. He hadn’t participated in the conversation much, but he was listening.

“I agree, it did seem positive. The wash of it was incredible, and intense, while I was eating. If it had been negative in any way, I would have felt it.”

“He may be an omega.” Severus said. “It is common for omegas to enjoy cooking or at least they will want to provide for the family.”

“Severus, no,” Lucius stopped that train of thought entirely. “Do not try to pin his cooking on being an omega. For heaven’s sake, he’s Draco’s age! And if you had seen how meek he looked, nearly refusing to look at anyone in the eye. No, there’s something else going on there.”

“I suppose you will be proven correct,” Severus stated, outwardly composed, but inwardly seething.

“I don’t think there’s any supposition about it. Remember how I said I felt the wash of magic on that cupboard under the stairs?” Lucius put in. “I got a good look at it with my aura sight, and it’s definitely where he spends the majority of his time. What magical child spends enough time in a boot cupboard of all things, long enough that their magic has saturated it enough to give it an aura. Especially an aura as bright as I was able to see nearly without even activating aura sight. Near spontaneous activation, Sev. You know how rare that is!”

“Ok, ok. I believe you.” Severus replied, placatingly. “So why are you telling me? What do you want to do about it?” 

“I’m not sure. We were hoping you might have some insight into the situation that we could use to address it, hopefully in such a way that gets that poor child out of there!” Lucius responded.

“Yes, Sev, it would have broken your heart to see him. So quiet and reserved, not anything like you’d expect a son of James Potter to behave. Especially with Lily’s temperament.” Narcissa added.

“Wait a moment,” Severus interjected. “Harry is with Petunia,” he continued, clearly thinking out loud. “I know Lily was working on James to have wills completed due to the threat against them. She wrote me to say they were putting together a list of people to take Harry should anything happen to them.”

The Malfoys exchanged glances, following Severus’ verbal thoughts.

“Honestly, Lucius,” Severus completed his thought, “I don’t think he was ever supposed to go to the muggles. I know Lily mentioned Sirius and Remus, the Longbottoms, Minerva and possibly myself. She said she had a few other potential options as well. As I was never called to take him, I assumed he had gone to someone earlier on the list than me, Remus perhaps, or that James had refused to have me on the list at all. Well, not that I’d have been in any fit state immediately anyway, you saw what happened, we were there.”

“Of course, Severus. No one would have expected you to take him in right at that moment in time. Sirius Black was his godfather, and he wasn’t arrested for four more days, perhaps Harry was with him. And once he was arrested, perhaps in the absence of other options, he wound up at the Dursleys for lack of other family?”

“That can’t be right,” Narcissa interjected. “Andromeda and I are both cousins to Sirius, he could have come to one of us, Andromeda if they weren’t comfortable with us,” she continued, gesturing to herself and Lucius.

“I don’t know, Cissa,” Lucius responded. “Severus, did you get called to the will reading?”

“No, I didn’t. I remember thinking it a bit odd as I was sure Lily had implied I would be mentioned in hers, regardless of whether or not James vetoed making me a potential guardian for Harry.”

“Father, Uncle Sev,” Draco interrupted with a sniffle. “Who is his magical guardian if he lives with muggles? I have you and mother, and I know Uncle Sev would take me if something happened to either of you, but Harry doesn’t have anyone. His godfather’s in prison.” Draco was near to tears thinking about the horrible situation this boy, who could have been his friend, was in.

“Oh, my sweet dragonling,” Narcissa cooed, holding her arms open for her son to crawl into her lap, “We don’t know for sure. We’re hoping Severus can help us find out.”

Draco nodded, with another sniff, and hid his face in his mother’s neck to be cuddled. Narcissa continued murmuring soothing words to her rather distraught son who kept choking out partial sentences about Harry being alone, and muggles not being good guardians for magical children, and would his core be alright without having been around magic for so long. It was rather disheartening for Narcissa to see how quickly Draco had attached himself to a boy he had not actually spoken to, but it was nice that her son was so tenderhearted. Perhaps he would avoid the fate of so many in the Noble and Ancient Houses, and keep some of that sweet innocence. She knew none of his friends would have shown this much concern, nor would they have let their mothers comfort them like this.

While Draco was being soothed by his mother, Severus and Lucius were having a quiet conversation. 

“Lucius, I don’t think the wills were ever read,” Severus whispered to his friend.

“I feel I must concur with that assessment,” Lucius agreed.

“That does make all of this rather a bit more than difficult,” Severus countered.

“I am aware, but how do we leave a child in an abusive situation,” Lucius continued.

“I don’t think we do,” Severus stated. “But we need to be cautious.”

“I wholeheartedly agree with that statement,” Lucius paused. “How do we take a child, moreover a child as well known as this one, away from those who are perhaps his legal guardians, and get him to a safe place without alerting the wrong parties.”

“We need to get him to Gringotts,” Severus said. “If he’s present, he can open the wills as they were his parents, regardless of his age.”

“Not quite,” Lucius responded, shaking his head. “He still has to be 10. The goblins can’t do an inheritance test until he turns 10, and without his key, which might not even work given no one has been taking the Potter Inheritance Tests to keep the vault keys active, he’ll have to take an inheritance test to prove who he is in order to open the wills.”

“That is unfortunate,” Severus concluded with a sigh.

“So it is,” Lucius ended the conversation with finality. He would have to speak to his goblin account manager about the situation and see if there was anything to be done.

They both nodded once, and Lucius stood.

“It is too late to continue discussing the situation this evening. Draco, it’s time for bed,” Lucius indicated firmly, but still kind. People who had seen the hard, cold, sharp-as-ice Malfoy lord would never recognize him if they saw him in private.

Draco hugged his mother one more time before sliding out of her lap, as gracefully as he could manage. He bowed to his father and his godfather, and offered a formal, though soft, “Blessed be,” before exiting the room to go to bed.

###  _ Gringotts Bank _

Two weeks after the discussion between the Malfoys and Severus, Lucius and Severus were in Gringotts to meet with their account manager goblin. Both men worked with Gornuk, so they decided on a joint meeting. They had been shown to his office a few minutes ago and were now waiting for Gornuk to arrive.

“Do you think he’ll be able to help?” Severus queried?

“I hope so,” Lucius responded. “I know Gornuk has had dealings with Griphook before, when the Malfoys and Blacks were in negotiations for my betrothal contract especially. I’m not certain he’ll be able to tell us anything specific, but he may be able to guide us a bit, even if we can’t get specifics.”

“So we’ll hope for the best then,” Severus replied, folding his hands together in his lap as they waited.

The outer door opened and Gornuk stepped into his office.

“May your gold ever grow, Gornuk,” Lucius and Severus stood and spoke together.

“And your enemies suffer, Lord Malfoy, Lord Prince,” Gornuk responded. “How may I assist you both today?”

“We are in need of your guidance, Gornuk, and possibly your knowledge of law and any potential...gaps we may be able to utilize,” the Malfoy lord replied with a slight bow to the goblin.

“Be seated, gentlemen. Tea?” Gornuk offered as a tea service popped into the room.

“Yes, thank you,” they replied, fixing their tea to their preference. They all sipped from their cups and relaxed back into the comfortable chairs provided for client meetings.

“I can tell something is bothering you gentlemen, and it is rare that clients choose to meet with their account managers jointly. Please, speak freely,” Gornuk invited.

“I have not witnessed the situation for myself, merely been involved in the discussion of it after the fact. I will let Lucius explain the particulars,” Severus noted.

Lucius took another sip of his tea in preparation for the story, and began to describe the situation to his account manager. He laid out all the flares of magic from the first dinner party, the lack of magic when eating out, all the subsequent interactions with the Dursleys, and lingered in great detail of the most recent dinner when he finally got a look at the source of the magic. When he got to the point of recognition, and stating who the magical child was, he was unceremoniously stopped by the now invested goblin.

“Wait, you mean to tell me, you went to a muggle home and stumbled across Harry Potter?!?” Gornuk exclaimed.

“Indeed,” Lucius replied.

“Well, well, well…” Gornuk muttered. “This changes things.”

“Changes things?” Severus put in, allowing Lucius a bit more time with his tea.

“Yes, well, unofficially of course,” Gornuk put in with with a penetrating look at the men, who nodded before he continued, “Unofficially, Griphook, the Potter and Black family’s account goblin has been looking for Harry for quite some time. He has not been brought in to participate in the yearly ritual for vault keys when the last of the family is too young for the usual inheritance test, and his magical guardian took a number of things from the Potter vaults prior to the keys losing their function on his second birthday when the vault keys failed, which was far before any of the items taken could or would have been needed for the young heir.”

“I was unaware of an alternative method of powering the vault keys,” Severus commented.

“I knew of it, but it had slipped my mind as it is needed so rarely. Usually the last of a house is well beyond the age of 10 when they become so,” Lucius put in.

“Well, well, well…” Gornuk devolved into unintelligible Gobbledegook for a few moments, clearly trying to come to terms with the information he had just been provided. Finally rousing himself from the shock of the situation, and coming back to clearer thought patterns, he looked at his two clients, and asked, “Would it be permissible for me to include Goblin Account Manager Griphook in this discussion?”

“Yes, if you believe he may be able to assist with the situation,” Lucius responded immediately, Severus nodding as well.

“One moment please,” Gornuk said, pressing his finger to a perfectly clear cube on his desk. He barked out a long line of Gobbledegook, and a sharp chime was emitted as the crystal glowed for a moment before flashing green. “Griphook will join us momentarily,” Gornuk concluded with a predatory smirk.

“Gentlemen, Gornuk,” Griphook said as he entered Gornuk’s office.

“May your gold ever grow, Account Manager Griphook,” said Lucius and Severus, standing and making polite bows to the goblin before returning to their seats.

“And your enemies suffer, Lord Malfoy and Lord Prince,” replied Griphook. “Gornuk indicated we have much to discuss.”

“We do, indeed,” responded Gornuk. “Lord Malfoy has located your missing Potter Heir.” He dropped the bombshell with a bland look on his face, waiting for the inevitable outburst from his colleague. He was not disappointed.

Griphook nodded, clearly not having realized what his fellow goblin had said. 

…

“WHAT!?!” he suddenly exclaimed, jumping out of his chair, the words just spoken playing on a loop in his head. He opened and closed his mouth several times, returned to his seat, and pinned Lord Malfoy with an intense stare. “Tell me everything,” he commanded.

So Lucius retold the tale which he had now lived, talked over at least a dozen times with his wife and Severus, told his account manager, and was now in the process of telling the Potter account manager. At this rate, he’d be dreaming of it soon.

The Potter account manager was absolutely furious at the end of Lucius’ recitation. He was muttering under his breath in spitting Gobbledegook, pacing the room, and gesturing as if brandishing a sword.

Griphook and Gornuk had a brief conversation in rapid-fire Gobbledegook, complete with Gornuk leaving his seat, and more waving of air-weaponry. Once their conversation stopped, both smoothed down their bank uniform suits, returned to their seats, and sipped at the now-cold tea.

“Officially,” glared Griphook with clenched teeth, “we can do nothing without the young heir, or his magical guardian being present.”

“Unofficially,” Gornuk smoothly took over, “the goblin nation would be marching for war, were it an option, therefore we are willing to assist you however we can.”

“You say the only magic you ever felt at this muggle residence was that of the Heir Potter?” confirmed Griphook.

“That is correct, Account Manager Griphook,” Lucius responded evenly.

“Griphook. We will be seeing much of each other in the future if I am correct in my assumptions,” Griphook directed to Lucius.

“Griphook, then, and thank you,” Lucius said with a nod. “But what is the significance of only feeling Heir Potter’s magic?”

“Ah, never dealt with magical guardianship then, have you?” Gornuk said with a slight chuckle, which sounded a bit like nails on a chalkboard. “A magical guardian must be in physical possession of their minor ward, or must visit said minor ward at least monthly to go over accounts and Wizengamot actions when seats are in play, as well as for tutoring in magical customs, etiquette, finance, and the like. Each monthly visit should be no less than 8 hours, or may be broken up into shorter visits, occurring more frequently. The required amount of time a minor ward should spend with their guardian is more than enough for a residence to gain at least a slight concentration of the guardian’s magic. 

“The fact that you, a known aura reader, are unable to detect another magical presence is disturbing, because if the magical guardian is not in physical possession of the minor ward, the minor ward is not to leave their residence for these meetings,” Griphook continued. “That I know who Heir Potter’s guardian is  _ supposed _ to be,” he bit out through clenched teeth, “and that I know who is  _ acting _ as Heir Potter’s magical guardian, is not admissible in terms of altering the situation for Heir Potter. I cannot divulge the information…” he trailed off.

“Directly,” finished Gornuk quietly.

“Directly,” echoed Griphook, sneering at the absurdity of his most prominent client being somewhere he was patently NOT supposed to be.

“Is there anything you can tell us directly, Griphook?” Lucius queried.

“Only that I am the bonded account manager for the Potter and Black families, I assisted with the preparation of legal guardianship documents and wills under the direction of Lord and Lady Potter, and Lord Black prior to their deaths and his incarceration on the part of Lord Black,” responded Griphook. “On a personal note, I can tell you I do NOT approve of the one  _ acting _ as Heir Potter’s magical guardian.”

“I don’t think any of the goblins approve of the one acting as Heir Potter’s magical guardian,” added Gornuk.

“Is there anything about the situation  _ you  _ can tell us directly, Gornuk?” asked Severus.

“I was not privy to many specific details surrounding the guardianship papers or wills of the late Potters or Lord Black, but being the account manager to  _ at least one _ of the preferred list of guardians, I did get a few things,” the goblin provided. “For instance, I know that both of you were on the list of potential guardians for our young Mr. Potter, and that the current...guardians...both physical and magical were most emphatically NOT.

The conversation continued for over 3 hours, lunch being provided for them in the office as they were deep in discussion by that point. By the end, they were still working around what Lucius and Severus did not yet know, or had not yet figured out from the best hints and round-about talking the goblins had been able to do. They settled on having at least one full day meeting a month until such time as they were able to remove Heir Harry Potter from his current living situation. 

Legally.

Or…

Well… 

... _ Legally _ .

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you don't know that I don't own HP by now, there's no hope.
> 
> As I finally had time to locate instructions on how to link in the notes, I had a few things to update in my notes on previous chapters. Rather than taunt you with an update alert and no new chapter, I decided to go ahead and post the next one. It had nothing to do with my desire for kudos and comments and my inability to stick to any sort of schedule outside of work. Nope. Not at all. Hope you enjoy!


	6. Chapter 5 - Bending Bonds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Previously: Introducing Severus, a conversation with the Malfoys, and a conversation with the goblins
> 
> In this chapter: Harry's rescue!

###  _Monday, August 15, 1988_

Harry was at home. Alone. Again. The Dursleys had gone over to one of the neighbor’s houses for the end of summer bonfire and barbecue to “foster good relationships with their neighbors on Privet Drive and Wisteria Walk.” Harry just thought Uncle Vernon went for the food, Aunt Petunia for the gossip, and Dudley to see his friends. And the food. Actually, it was probably all about the food.

Harry just wanted to see the bonfire. He had seen them on the telly, when he could sneak a covert glance while doing his chores, and they just seemed so magical. Wood and a match making flames that would dance and shift, sparks rising into the sky before winking out of existence. But Harry had been left at home. Like always. Thankfully, he had not been locked in his cupboard this time, so he was sitting in the parlor, looking out the window, trying to see the fire from across the street.

He had completed all his chores shortly after the Dursleys left. Then he spent a little time mending some of his clothes. He had realized that the clothes that lasted the longest were the ones he had mended. Whether it was fixing holes, replacing buttons, or reinforcing seams, anything he had sewed lasted longer than the garments he hadn’t. Once it started getting dark he had placed himself in the front window, trying to catch a glimpse of the fire. Finally giving up, as there were just too many houses in the way, he retreated to the kitchen to get some food, and then to his cupboard to hide in case the Dursleys came home angry.

Harry didn’t bother turning on the light in his cupboard, he didn’t want to fall asleep with it on, lest the Dursleys think he did something freaky. But he was still thinking about the fire. He hadn’t noticed that while he’d been sitting there, cupping his hands as if warming them in front of his imaginary fire, a spark had been growing between his palms. He suddenly noticed he was looking at his hands and could actually see them in the dark when he realized the light over his head had not spontaneously come on, but rather there were flames between his hands. 

As he watched, enjoying the flickering, the flames grew and morphed. Harry watched them curiously, not really knowing what to expect, when the fire finished shifting into what he _thought_ was a dragon! It certainly had all the distinguishing features of a dragon: serpent-like body, jaws with teeth, and wings! As he watched, the fire-dragon began circling him, winging through the air, doing loop-de-loops, and blowing small clouds of smoke, which made him giggle, and tickled his nose. Harry was so absorbed in the fire-dragon’s fire-breathing antics, he didn’t hear the sharp pop from outside, or the front door unlocking and being opened. Nor did he hear the footsteps coming closer to his cupboard. 

The door to the cupboard under the stairs had an insistent flicker coming from the gap. To Severus’ spy-trained eyes, he thought it was fire. But surely if Lucius was correct, there wouldn’t be fire in the space where Harry Potter sleeps. He reached out and gently eased open the door. He and Lucius peered inside.

The fire-dragon was flying around the cupboard once more doing a double somersault before landing on Harry’s shoulder. When he turned to look at the Fire? Dragon? Fire-dragon? That WAS NOT BURNING his clothes, he saw the faces in the doorway and let out a shriek. The fire-dragon winked out of existence as if it had never been, leaving behind the scent of burning wood and smoke. 

“Was that...Fiendfyre?” Severus breathed, staring at the spot from which the fire-dragon had vanished.

“I...I think so,” Lucius finally responded.

Harry shrank into himself and tried to disappear into the unfinished wood and cleaning supplies stored in the cupboard. Severus noticed his movement, and recognizing the actions as similar to his own youth, slowly reached out a hand towards the now-shaking boy.

“Hello, Harry, my name is Severus. I was a friend of your mother’s, and this is Lucius, my friend,” Severus stated in a soft voice, which none of his students had ever heard, and would likely have been even more frightened if they had.

“I don’t have a mother,” Harry said quietly. “Aunt Petunia said Mum and Dad died in a car crash because Mum was a whore and Dad was drinking, and why couldn’t I have died, too.”

Severus hissed at the confirmation that Petunia was indeed as vile as he remembered. Of course that startled the boy, who hunched back over. Lucius sent Severus a look that spoke volumes.

“Harry, it’s okay. Severus knew your Mum and dad when they were in school and up until you were born. And your mum and dad didn’t die in a car crash, something bad happened, and they were killed,” said Lucius, trying to sound comforting.

“Like my dream?” Harry asked innocently.

“What dream is that, sweetheart?” Lucius responded.

“Well…” Harry thought for a moment if he wanted to share his dream with the strange men. “There’s a man, with hair like mine and he makes colors come out of a stick. And then a lady with eyes like mine that sings to me. I always wanted them to be my parents, they seem so nice.”

Severus and Lucius exchanged glances, thinking that he was indeed dreaming of his parents, but when they went to reassure him, he spoke again.

“Then the nice man is yelling, but not at me, and the soft lady is running up the stairs with me. She puts me in a crib, and I can hear her crying and asking someone to spare me. He says for her to step aside, but she tells him to kill her instead of me...and...and...and then there’s green light and I’m all alone.” Harry is sobbing by the end of his recounting.

“Oh, Harry…” Severus says, extending his arms again, this time for a hug. Harry looks at him confused, then seems to recognize the gesture as something Aunt Petunia does for Dudley when he’s crying, and so he jumps off his mattress and barrels straight into the stoic man’s arms.

While Severus focused on calming Harry, Lucius took a few moments to activate his aura sight and swept his gaze over the part of the house they were in. His sight had gradually been picking up larger and larger concentrations of Harry’s magic over the course of the time he had been interacting with the Dursleys and he was hopeful this check would help him determine why. The kitchen was saturated in his magic, though there were paths where the muggles had clearly walked from the door to the refrigerator or snack cabinets since those had much lighter magic, but everything else was covered in Harry’s magic. A look through the dining room showed much less magic, mainly a light coating over the table and sideboard. There was no concentration to tell him where Harry sat at the table. Indeed it looked like he had never been able to sit there. 

The parlor showed two slight concentrations equally spaced from each other and the walls. Lucius found this odd as there were no pieces of furniture to correspond with those concentrations and he couldn’t for the life of him figure out why Harry would just stand in two random places in the room. A peek into the laundry area, which Lucius only identified due to the baskets of clothing, revealed another spike in Harry’s magic. Clearly the kitchen and laundry were places Harry frequented. 

But none of the locations on the first floor showed anything like the amount of magic Lucius could see pouring through the space in the small cupboard under the stairs where they found him. The only way this much magic was contained in one space was anathema to him, but he knew it to be true. That small cupboard was clearly Harry’s bedroom, an observation confirmed by a small drawing of what had to be Harry, in crayon, with a childish scrawl declaring it Harry’s Room.

Lucius returned to Severus and Harry after his inspection of the lower level, exchanged a meaningful glance with Severus, and gestured to indicate that Severus should try to get Harry seated and capable of coherent conversation. Severus gave Harry a slight squeeze of a hug and Harry nearly jolted right out of his lap. Severus chuckled, and ran a hand through Harry’s hair to calm him.

“Harry?” Lucius asked, “do you think you could talk to us for a minute?”

Harry nodded, “You won’t tell the Dursleys I talked, will you?”

“No,” Severus said as he stood up, still holding Harry, and went into the parlor where he set Harry down on the sofa. Harry immediately scrambled off the furniture and sat on the floor in front of the chairs Lucius and Severus had chosen to sit in. Eyebrows raised on both men at Harry’s action. Lucius cleared his throat and Severus leaned forward.

“Harry, why aren’t you sitting on the couch?” Severus asked.

“I’m not allowed,” Harry responded matter-of-factly. 

Severus shook his head. Lucius picked up the questions.

“Harry, I have a very special skill that allows me to see auras, colors, left behind by people around me,” Lucius simplified his skill for the youngster. “And that skill shows me that there are two places where you frequently are in this room.” He pointed to the two locations, “Can you tell me why you are usually there?”

“That’s where I stand to vacuum. Aunt Petunia wants the house vacuumed every day and if I stand in those two spots, I can reach the whole room,” Harry said proudly.

“I see,” Lucius said. “And in the kitchen and laundry area?”

“Oh, well, I do all the cooking and laundry, so I spend lots of time there,” Harry said.

“Oh,” Lucius said, somewhat at a loss. Here was a child admitting to doing all the work around the house at 8 years of age and acting as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

“Where do you sleep, Harry?” Severus stepped in when the pause grew long.

“In there,” Harry said, pointing to the cupboard. “But please don’t tell Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon I told you...I’m not supposed to tell.” Harry whispered, looking a little scared the two men would get him into trouble.

“We won’t,” Severus said. It was clear to him that the conclusions Lucius had drawn almost a year ago at that blasted dinner party when he first recognized Harry were correct. He smirked a bit. And didn’t that just make everything a little easier with what the goblins had planned for he and Lucius to do.

“I just have one more question before we tell you some things, and see what you want to do from now on. Does that sound okay?” Severus asked the small boy.

“Really, I get to choose?” the boy said excitedly.

“Indeed,” Lucius interjected.

“Cool!” Harry said.

“When we came in, you were playing with a fire dragon, right? Where did it come from?” Severus asked.

“I don’t know. I was sitting in my room, thinking about the bonfire my family went to across the street and wishing that I could see it, and even though I never turned the light on, I could see my hands. And then the fire grew and turned into a dragon and flew around!” Harry was excited again thinking about the fire dragon.

“And I have one more question.” Lucius stated. “Have you ever experienced anything else different, sort of like the dragon. Something that you couldn’t really explain?”

“Yeah...loads of times.” Harry started. “You want to know about them?” he whispered, afraid they would tell him he was being strange or a freak.

“Yes, we would very much like to hear about them,” Lucius responded.

“Well, the earliest one I can remember is when I was 3, the lightbulb broke in my cupboard. But whenever I flip the switch, it still turns on. Never when the Dursleys flip the switch, only me.” the child said proudly when neither man berated him for his freakishness. “You wanna see?” He stood up from the floor.

“Certainly you should show us, but when you come back, we’d like it if you would sit on the sofa. Can you do that for us?” Lucius questioned. He made a mental note that this light switch story was an indication that his magic started manifesting around the time it should have.

“Well...If you aren’t going to tell the Dursleys I talked, or told about the cupboard, you won’t tell if I sit on the furniture, right?” 

“Of course not.” Severus said, standing as well. “Now run and show us the light.” 

Harry went over to the cupboard, opened the door and flipped the switch. A gentle light flooded the small space. Harry flipped the switch again to turn it off. He nodded to Severus as if to say, okay, it’s your turn. So Severus flipped the switch and nothing happened. He inspected the bulb and saw that the filament was indeed broken inside the light bulb.

“That is quite impressive, young man,” Lucius praised. Harry flushed in embarrassment, and ducked his head as they returned to the parlor. Harry almost sat on the floor but remembered the two men had asked him to sit on the couch.

“What were your names again?” Harry asked, before he launched into more of the strange things that had occurred around him.

“My apologies young Mr. Potter, we know who you are, but you do not know us very well. I am Lord Lucius Malfoy and this is my very dear friend, Lord Severus Prince,” Lucius responded, somewhat haughtily. Then he winked and said, “but you may call us Lucius and Severus.”

Harry giggled and nodded. “Lu-Lucius, and Sevimas, Seve-...” he trailed off, not being able to pronounce the rather odd sounding name.

“Severus, but your mother always called me Sev. You may do so as well if you wish,” Severus allowed.

“Sev. It’s nice to share something with my mum,” Harry commented. “OK, so light in my cupboard. More strange things… Hmm...well, when I started working in the garden, sometimes I would bother the snakes that live under the rose bushes or over by the rocks and they would say things to me. And I could talk to them too! I always talk to the plants, and I feel like they understand, but it’s probably just me talking.” He shrugged like it wasn’t important.

Lucius and Severus exchanged raised eyebrows at the indication that Harry was a Parselmouth, and possibly had some gift for earth magic if he could feel the flowers listening to him.

“Oh, and one summer I got really mad at Dudley, and when I stomped my foot, I swear the sidewalk rose up to trip him when he tried to chase me. He fell down and it was funny because normally he laughs at me when I fall down but I got to laugh at him that time. And one time I clapped my hands and everybody around me held their ears...I didn’t think it was that loud, but I guess it was. And then at school when I was five, one of the teachers was yelling and it scared me, so I snapped my fingers, like I’ve seen Aunt Petunia do when she gets an idea, because I had the idea to get a blanket from the reading corner to cover my ears, but when I snapped, my teacher’s hair turned blue! I didn’t get to eat for a week after that.” Harry said with a frown. “I don’t know how his hair turned blue though.”

Harry rubbed his head, “And I’ve been able to unlock the cupboard to sneak out for food at night since the summer I turned 5, and then that Christmas I was running away from Ripper, that’s Aunt Marge’s dog, even though she’s not really my aunt, she’s Dudley’s aunt; anyways, I was running from Ripper and jumped, and wound up in a tree. Of course I had to sit up there until after midnight because Aunt Marge wouldn’t call him off so I could get down. It was cold,” Harry wrapped his arms around himself as if remembering the chill. “And then just the last two years, I can sometimes get a blanket or pillow to appear in my cupboard, and clothes that I work on seem to last longer and not get as dirty as the clothes I don’t work on. I only wear clothes I’ve worked on when I’m outside now, it makes the laundry easier.”

“But last October was the worst.” Harry sighed as he started his tale. “Dudley and his friends were pestering me at school and I spun around looking for a place to hide behind the rubbish or recycling bins, and instead of being on the ground with the bins, I was on the roof. I had to do all the outside work until after dark, cook dinner, and I didn’t eat ‘cept for school for two weeks for that one. I still don’t know how I wound up there,” Harry said rather morosely. “I mean, sometimes I can get the chores to go faster, like concentrating really hard on the rag wiping the counters, and it will keep wiping the counters while I go sweep the floor, but I can’t do that all the time, and it isn’t very exciting.”

Severus and Lucius were shocked. Harry Potter was sitting in this horrendous muggle parlor, explaining his magic, and punishments for it, something that was celebrated in the wixen world. He didn’t even seem to be aware that he was not treated anything like how he should be treated. They had to get him to agree to the plan they had landed on with their goblin account managers, they wanted him out of this place at the first opportunity.

“Harry, those are marvelous things to be able to accomplish!” Lucius nearly gushed. The power this small child held was immense and he wanted to have a hand in helping him hone it.

“You should not have been punished for them at all,” Severus included. Then he heaved a sigh and explained, “Harry, those things you can do are magic, and we can do them to. The colors Lucius can see are because of magic.”

“But Uncle Vernon says there’s no such thing as magic,” Harry contradicted with a pout.

“Ah, but your uncle is a muggle, so for him, there is no magic. But your Aunt, now your aunt grew up with Lily, and Lily was a witch and could do magic, so I’d make a guess that she is a squib. But you, Harry, you’re a wizard, and quite a good one from what you’ve mentioned.” Severus couldn’t believe Petunia hadn’t told Harry about magic. 

“Harry, we’d like to take you to the magical world, away from these people who make you cook their food, wash their clothes, clean their house, and do their yard work. We want you to come live with us and be a child and study hard and learn so you can be a great wizard one day. We have some friends, they are from a race called Goblins, which are very small with pointed ears and teeth, and they have helped us come up with a plan to get you away from here safely so you can learn about our world.” Lucius laid out the situation in very simple terms.

“Where would I go?” Harry asked skeptically.

“Well, you’d live with me. You’ve seen my wife, Narcissa, and son, Draco, at the dinner parties here.” Lucius paused and Harry nodded. “And Severus comes to visit quite often. In fact, I believe Draco is due to start his potions tutoring on weekends this year, so we’ll see quite a lot of Severus for that.” Lucius continued.

Severus nodded. “Indeed, Draco is starting potions, so I would be able to see you as well, Harry. And perhaps you could join his lessons. Would you like that?”

Harry nodded rather frantically. Then he looked a little shy, “Would you tell me about my mum?” 

“Of course, child,” Severus responded.

“I want to go with you,” Harry said decisively, privately thinking that even if it was a trick, it was unlikely to be worse than his treatment here. “What do I need to do for the Goblins’ plan?”

“First, you should pack up anything you want to bring with you,” Lucius instructed. “But don’t worry if you forget anything, Narcissa will want to take you shopping in the next day or two anyway for anything you need.”

Harry nodded and ran back to the cupboard to grab his blue blanket with the embroidered lily and his initials, HJP, in the corner. As soon as he had it safely in hand, he dashed back to his seat in the parlor.

Severus raised an eyebrow, but Lucius spoke before he could comment. “Is that everything?” He paused and then continued, “That’s fine then. We will need you to give us a few hairs from your head…” Almost before he had finished speaking, Harry was reaching up and yanking a few strands from the unruly mop of hair falling down in his face. “... Good.”

Lucius pulled a very small box out of his pocket, drew his wand, and tapped the box making it grow very rapidly to the size of a large trunk. Harry’s eyes grew nearly as big as saucers at that. Lucius opened the trunk and pulled out what appeared to be a doll, roughly the same size as Harry. Lucius took the hairs Harry so helpfully provided, and touched them to the head of the doll, waving his wand as he did so. When he removed his hand the hairs were attached to the head and vibrating very slightly. He gestured for Harry to step closer to him.

“Now, I need you to hold the doll’s hands and concentrate VERY hard. Even harder than when you get the rag to keep wiping the counters or when you wish your cupboard would unlock. Can you do that?” Lucius asked.

Harry already had his hands wrapped around the hands of the doll, his eyes were closed, and a deep wrinkle was forming at his brow. Lucius nodded, even though Harry couldn’t see him and began waving his wand in intricate patterns over Harry and the doll. The goblins had anchored ward stones inside the doll to function as its energy source and Lucius was acting as a conduit to transfer magic from Harry to the stones. The magical transfer would allow the doll to look and act like Harry, as well as continue to provide a focus for the wards the goblins said had been placed around the Dursley residence by Harry’s magical guardian. Now that they knew who it was, even if the goblins hadn’t been able to tell them directly, they were doubly angry. Because the family hadn’t loved him, the wards that were anchored to Harry were deteriorating, pulling from Harry’s magic to sustain themselves, which in turn was restricting the magic Harry had available to use himself. That was why sometimes he could do things magically and sometimes he could not.

Harry began to sway, and nearly fell right off his feet, but Severus was right there to catch him. 

“Thanks, Sev,” Harry slurred out before succumbing to sleep.

“I hope you’ve got enough, because he’s out,” Severus said to Lucius.

“I have,” he replied. He finished waving his wand over the doll, and tapped the head once more. The appearance of the doll started to morph, matching Harry’s messy black hair, vivid green eyes, and adopting the somewhat hunched posture that characterized the child, now sleeping on the sofa. The transfer of magic would also provide memories to the doll so Doll-Harry would act the way it should. The Dursleys should never notice that Harry had been replaced. And since they had been watching rather closely since the meeting with the goblins in January of this year, they knew his magical guardian wouldn’t be visiting anytime soon. The two men placed Doll-Harry in the cupboard under the stairs, and returned to the parlor.

“Harry,” Severus said gently. “I know you’re tired, child, but you need to be awake for what we’re about to do.”

Harry grumbled and tried to turn over, only to feel hands stopping him.

“Come, dear one, open your eyes. You can sleep again as soon as we arrive, just a few more minutes,” Lucius crooned to the sleepy boy.

“ ‘m wake,” Harry mumbled, attempting to stand. He latched on to Severus’ hand and his blanket as they walked out the front door.

“We’re going to apparate, Harry,” Severus explained. “I want you to close your eyes and hold your breath. I will spin on my foot, you will feel a very great pressure, similar to being sucked through a straw, you will hear a crack, and we will have arrived and you may sleep again.”

Harry nodded, his eyes nearly closed again.

Severus nodded to Lucius, who turned on his foot and vanished with a crack. Harry perked up a bit at that, and turned to look at Sev. He nodded, and opened his arms. Harry stepped closer so Severus could pick him up. He really was quite small for an 8 year old. Severus shook his head to clear his thoughts, made sure the boy was ready, then focused on Malfoy Manor, spun on his foot and apparated.

\----------

###  _Malfoy Manor_

Harry was wiggling as soon as they landed at the manor, and Severus hastily set him down. As soon as he was put on his feet, he fell over and vomited. When he was finished, Lucius waved his wand and vanished the mess. 

“What was that?” Harry questioned, still a bit green around the edges.

“That was apparition, and we wanted you awake so you wouldn’t get sick in your sleep.” Severus replied.

“It isn’t very pleasant, I know,” said Lucius, “but with time and practice it does get better. By the time you turn 17 you’ll be able to do it yourself, and that’s much easier than side-along apparition, which is what Severus just did with you.” 

“That was horrible,” Harry said emphatically, blinking around at his surroundings.

They had arrived in the receiving room, Lucius having modified the wards to allow Harry through. Harry was looking around at everything like a small, curious cat, and the more he saw, the wider his eyes got. He had never seen such an amazing place. 

Lucius and Severus exchanged chuckles as they guided him through the house and up to his new room. Though he was very excited by the house, by the time they arrived at his room, he was nearly asleep on his feet. Magical exhaustion and general tiredness had clearly caught up to him. A house elf changed his clothes for pajamas, and they tucked him in and wished him goodnight. He was asleep before they were even out of the room.


	7. Chapter 6 - Creating Bonds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Previously: Harry's rescue!
> 
> In this chapter: First morning at Malfoy Manor

###  _ Tuesday, August 16, 1988 _

Growing sunlight creeping in through the windows around him teased Harry’s mind awake. He snuggled further into his pillows and blankets, thinking he was in the midst of a fantastic dream. He wasn’t in any pain, the bed he was laying on was far softer than anything else he had ever slept on, and he was actually warm. He was enjoying it so much he didn’t immediately recognize when his eyes crept open and he actually started seeing his surroundings. Noticing he was awake wasn’t helped by the fact that a small wrinkly creature with large eyes and pointed ears, wearing what appeared to be a clean, white toga of sorts, was stoking the fireplace and opening the curtains in the room. But the clatter of the fire irons and the bright morning light convinced him that he was in fact awake and not dreaming.

“Good morning, masters guest sir, I is being Dobby and is taking cares of you,” the strange creature said.

“Umm…” Harry was very confused.

“Breakfastses will bes served in masters dining room in 30 minuteses. Masters guest sir should be washing and being dressed sos Dobby can bes taking him down,” it continued.

“Uhh… Thank you?” Harry said, still rather confused.

“I’s bes coming back in 25 minuteses for you, masters guest sir,” Dobby finished with a bow.

“Thank you, Dobby? Was it? I will be ready.” Harry finally managed a complete sentence and the small creature...Dobby… vanished with a quiet pop.

Harry sat for another moment, eyes glazed to the world around him, taking stock of his situation. It appeared that he had not in fact dreamed of the two men taking him away from the Dursleys, and he was in fact somewhere in...Well, he didn’t know exactly where, but it certainly wasn’t anything like his cupboard. Having now left the Dursleys with near perfect strangers, he decided he should take a look around and try to get his bearings.

Harry got out of bed and took a look around the room he had woken in. It was a large room, bigger than the entire second floor of the Dursley’s house at least, maybe bigger than their entire first floor. Part of the room was clearly to be used as a sitting area as there were a couple of squashy looking armchairs in an inviting light grey plush sitting before the fireplace with a low table in between. The chairs had inviting deep blue pillows, and he nearly stepped towards them before remembering he hadn’t taken a look at where he had slept.

He turned back towards the bed, taking in the black wrought iron scrollwork head and footboards with posters which had deep blue velvet curtains to help block out the light if needed. The sheets were a silvery grey, and the bedspread was white with intricate deep blue patterns which were similar to the scrollwork of the bed and matched the color of the curtains perfectly. The walls were a very pale blue, the carpet a slightly darker grey than the chairs, but very soft on his feet, and a few rugs were scattered about with grey, blue, and white patterns. 

Harry spun slowly in a circle, taking in the entirety of the space. The table in the seating area, his bed, and two bookshelves were black, though his bed appeared to be the only thing in iron. He had the seating area to one side of the bed, and the bookshelves and a work desk with desk chair in light wood, with grey leather upholstery to the other. The bed was stood on a platform, which he had thankfully noticed before taking too many steps away from the bed and falling flat on his face, and possibly breaking his glasses. Since he didn’t know where exactly he was, he wasn’t too keen on trying to figure out how to get his glasses fixed.

After a thorough perusal of the space, Harry wandered over to a wall that had two doors. The first he opened appeared to be empty, possibly a closet or dressing room as he did see a few shelves and racks. The second door was much more inviting as it led to a large bathroom. Harry stopped dead in his tracks in the doorway, mouth dropping open at the sight before him.

This bathroom was glorious. Amazing. Fit for a king! The floor was tiled in a patterned grey, black, and white marble, sparkling and polished. The walls had been done in an odd sort of white iridescent or pearlescent sort of finish, he thought it might be tile as well, but if it was, it was sheets the size of the entire wall as he couldn’t see any lines for seams or grout. There were plush deep blue rugs in front of the sunken tub, done in the same marble as the floor, which was the size of a small swimming pool, and the sink, which was pure white marble basin on top of black cabinets. 

A set of shelves built in to the wall next to the tub held an assortment of bathing products, shampoo, conditioner, several varieties of bubble bath, containers of what he thought were bath bombs, and jars of other things he couldn’t name with little scoops that were clearly meant to be added to the bath, or perhaps to the other products. On the other side of the tub was another built in area for shelving which contained stacks of deep blue towels and washcloths. When Harry finally decided to move out of the doorway, that shelf of towels was the first thing he went for, and upon reaching up to take a towel, noticed that it was warm, all the towels on the shelves were warm, and the shelves themselves were as well.

Stumbling slightly as he stepped away from the tub, he spun around to continue his investigation of the bathroom to find another door, which led to a room with a toilet. Harry nodded at this. No worrying about someone walking into the bath while he was in the toilet, it had its own little room! Harry made use of the facilities quickly, set his glasses next to the sink, and dashed over to the tub to begin filling it. The water gushed out quite warm, not hot enough to scald, but oh, he had never had a fully hot shower at the Dursleys and the opportunity to wallow in the hot water of this bath as long as he wished was intoxicating. He opened the various bottles and jars taking a sniff of each before deciding on a refreshing citrus and mint bubble bath. He added it to the bath water and replaced the bottle. He pulled down the shampoo to find it had a very pleasant citrus scent, and then the conditioner, which smelt quite minty. He didn’t know how he had managed to pick the bubble bath to match, but was grateful he wouldn’t be going about smelling of the horrible floral smells his Aunt Petunia favored.

He spent nearly 15 minutes in the bath, splashing, playing with the bubbles, and just generally enjoying the hot water when a pop sounded, and the strange little creature from earlier appeared next to the tub.

“Masters guest sir should bes getting outs bath now,” Dobby said. “Master bes sending these clothes for Masters guest sir to bes wearing for breakfasts,” he finished, holding a small pile of clothes.

“Oh!” Harry said with surprise. He reached down to try and find the drain for the tub, when Dobby snapped his long, thin fingers and the water and bubbles were gone. Harry shrieked, trying to cover himself when Dobby snapped again and one of the large bath towels settled down around his shoulders, covering him from neck to knees.

“Thank you, Dobby,” Harry said politely as he began to dry himself off.

Dobby popped out of the bathroom to put the clothes in Harry’s room. Harry finished drying off and grabbed a smaller towel to dry his hair. When he went over to the sink to retrieve his glasses, he noticed a jar that said Hair Tonic. 

As Harry reached for the tonic, Dobby popped back in to say, “Three drops only masters guest sir. Three drops and rubs in hair. Hair bes looking styled not likes mop.”

“Ok,” Harry replied, uncorking the bottle and carefully letting three drops fall in his hand. He rubbed his hands through his hair, and looked in the mirror. Dobby was right! His hair, which usually stood out all over the place like some unkempt, unruly mop now looked pleasingly tousled, or slightly windswept rather than like he had stuck his finger in an electrical socket like the cartoons on TV that Dudley liked so much.

“Thank you, Dobby,” Harry said with a smile.

Dobby bowed and made a shoo-ing motion with his hands, wordlessly telling Harry to get dressed so he could get to breakfast. Harry smiled and took the hint, walking out into the bedroom and straight over to the bed which was now fully made, and his clothes laid out upon it. Harry dropped his towel and began to dress. As he was finishing Dobby popped back in with a pair of shiny black shoes to go with his black pants and green silk shirt. Harry had never been so well dressed in his life. 

As he finished he took Dobby’s hand and said, “Please lead the way to breakfast, Dobby.”

Dobby sniffed and big fat tears started rolling out of his eyes. “Masters guest sir bes taking Dobby’s hand...like Dobby bes...bes...bes a friend!” he wailed.

“Well, I can’t be sure since I’ve never had one, but I think you’re my friend, Dobby. You came to take care of me this morning, brought me clothes to wear, and are taking me to breakfast. II think that’s what friends do,” Harry said.

“But Dobby bes a servant,” he said sadly.

Harry squeezed the small hand in his, “well, you can be my friend, even if you are a servant. And as my friend, you should call me Harry.” Harry nodded confidently at his pronouncement, and gave a little tug on Dobby’s hand to remind him they had somewhere to be.

“Breakfast?” Harry asked.

“Yes, yes. This way master Harry,” Dobby said, nodding as he tugged Harry out into the hallway. A short few minutes walk landed them outside the dining room. 

“Breakfasts bes served, Master Harry,” Dobby said, opening the door.

“Thank you, Dobby,” Harry said kindly, smiling at his new small friend. Dobby nodded and popped away.

Harry took a tentative step into the dining room, not sure what he was expecting to see. But really, though it was larger than the dining room at the Dursleys, it was still homey. There was a small-ish 8-person table with a plain white cloth. A pretty flower arrangement stood in the center, with breakfast dishes and serving utensils to one side. The side with the food also had four place settings. Lucius was seated at the head of the table, Narcissa on the side to his right. Draco was to his left, and there was an empty plate and chair, which he could only assume was for him when Lucius waved a hand to indicate it as such.

“Good morning, Harry,” Lucius said as Harry sat and began to fill his plate.

“Ah… Good morning, Mr. Malfoy,” Harry responded nervously. He had been alright with Lucius and Severus the previous evening, but his nerves were reasserting themselves and he was no longer sure what proper behavior would be in these new surroundings.

“Oh, Harry, I thought we passed this last night. Please, when we’re in private, you may call me Lucius.”

“Okay, Mist… I mean, Lucius,” Harry got out.

“And I’m sure you remember my lovely wife, Narcissa,” Lucius continued, laying a hand on Narcissa’s knee.

“Please, we are cousins, you must call me Cissa. None of that formal nonsense when we’re at home,” Narcissa said quite happily. She was so pleased they had gotten the poor child out without issue, and she had always wanted more children at some point, but it was just so difficult.

“Good morning, Cissa,” Harry responded politely.

“And this is our son, Draco,” Lucius pointed to the near copy of himself, only younger. “He has been present at several of the little...get-togethers... for which you made such wonderful food, but I’m unsure if you ever actually heard his name.”

“Hello, Draco,” Harry said hesitantly. He had never had much opportunity to interact with other children his age, Dudley had seen to that. He hoped his freakishness didn’t scare this boy off. He’d like to have a human friend as well.

“Hello, Harry, I’m very pleased you could be here with us,” Draco said quite formally. 

Narcissa chuckled quietly, “Draco, you needn’t be formal this morning. Consider the remainder of the week a holiday, informal manners are acceptable while we’re at home.”

“Yes, Mother!” Draco said quite excitedly. He had been learning proper etiquette since he was five years old and rarely got days off...now he had nearly a full week!

“How is your breakfast, Harry?” Narcissa asked.

“It’s great, Cissa, French Toast is my favorite!” Harry responded with a bit of excitement. He was finally starting to relax around the Malfoys seeing that nothing bad was happening.

“That’s good. Now, I know you’ve been attending muggle school, but Draco has tutors,” Narcissa continued. “We thought, as you’ll be staying with us for some time, you might like to study with him. His tutor is coming this afternoon to do a few placement exercises with you so he knows where to start. Does that sound acceptable?”

“It sounds fine to me. My teachers at school were always worried I would be bored, so maybe this will be more of a challenge for me,” Harry said guilelessly.

“Oh?” Lucius asked intrigued. “And why would you be bored at school?”

“Well, the books they had weren’t very hard. Lots of pictures, not enough words. I learned to read from Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia’s books before I started primary, and they didn’t have any pictures, and the words were way longer. So reading was pretty boring at school,” Harry stated. “And I think I was just good at maths because it was never hard. And my printing is pretty good, so they didn’t have to worry about not being able to read my classwork,” Harry shrugged. “School was pretty easy.”

“I see,” Lucius said. “Well, perhaps we will have something new to teach you.”

“I know of at least one new thing,” Draco jumped in. “His family history!”

“Yes, but we don’t have his family grimoire or any specific books or documents that would enable us to teach his family history,” Narcissa said to Draco.

“Once we can get your inheritance test at Gringotts when you turn 10, Harry, we can get the documents then,” Lucius commented. “Until then, it might be best to study ours since we are right here to assist you with it. And it will still give you the basics of how a magical family works, how it moves up or down in ranking, and other things like that.”

“That sounds interesting,” Harry said.

“I did our family first. I’ll be working on 15 generations of the family this year,” Draco said proudly. “And the past three generations of all the current ranked families.”

Harry’s eyes grew larger. “That sounds like a lot…”

“You won’t have that much to start. Mr. Morgan will start at the beginning and work at your pace, Harry. Don’t worry,” Narcissa put in soothingly. “Now boys, I’ll be out in the Rose Garden for a bit, but I expect that you play nicely together. If you have any difficulties, get Tansy or Dobby to find me.”

“Mother, could I take Harry to the pitch?” Draco asked.

“Why don’t you have Tansy bring your broom and one of the extras to the Rose Garden so I can supervise. Harry has never flown a broom, remember?” Narcissa instructed.

“Yes, Mother!” Draco said happily. He turned to Harry, “Flying is the best! My broom goes to 30 meters and I’ve started learning some Quidditch moves. Maybe you can learn them, too!” He said to Harry excitedly, and with an imploring look on his face.

“That sounds great, Draco!” Harry hadn’t ever done anything with a friend, so anything would have sounded amazing to him. But flying, that just sounded so much cooler than anything Dudley and his friends got to do together. The closest thing he could think of was his skateboard, and Dudley hated that because it involved exercise.

“Can we be excused, Mother, Father?” Draco asked hurriedly, clearly ready to be outside playing.

“You may,” Lucius responded.

“Blessed be!” Draco shouted as he grabbed Harry’s hand and pulled him from the room, headed to the Rose Garden. 

“Tansy!” Draco called once they were seated in the gazebo in the Rose Garden.

“Yes, Master Draco?” Tansy said with a bow as soon as she popped in.

“Tansy, this is Harry, he’ll be living with us from now on,” Draco said imperiously. Tansy nodded. “Go to the broom shed and bring my broom and another similar broom for Harry.”

“Yes, Master Draco,” Tansy said, popping out to do as instructed.

Tansy popped back in holding two brooms, which Draco immediately took from her. He handed one to Harry and started explaining how to ride. Once Narcissa arrived, she allowed them to fly around at low heights where she could watch them while she pruned her roses. They flew around letting Harry get used to flying and the basic maneuvers. 

Narcissa called them down for a break after about an hour. She called her house elf, Tink to provide drinks and a light snack for the boys. While they were resting, Harry asked Draco about the house elves.

“Why are you so mean to your house elves?” Harry asked curiously. 

“What do you mean?” Draco questioned. He treated the elves the same way his parents, and all his friends and their families did. He had no idea what Harry was talking about.

“Well, earlier when you called Tansy to get your broom, you didn’t say please or anything, just ‘get my broom,’” Harry said the last with an exaggerated, stuck up impression.

“That’s how everybody treats house elves,” Draco responded.

“Not me,” Harry replied. “I made friends with Dobby.” He shrugged. “I know I did all the work for the Dursleys and they were never nice. It would have been great if anybody had thanked me for all the things I did.”

“Why?” Draco asked, not understanding what Harry meant.

“I don’t know, but it would have been nice I think,” Harry replied. They both shrugged and Narcissa sent them back to their brooms, thinking about what Harry had said.

“Tink?” Narcissa said quietly.

“Yes, Mistress?” Tink popped in. 

“Could you take the tea things away, please?” Narcissa put Harry’s thoughts into immediate action.

Tink’s eyes grew wide at the kindness in Narcissa’s tone. “Tink will bes getting rid of them now, Mistress, yes,” Tink said, nodding furiously, ears flapping.

“Thank you, Tink,” Narcissa said as Tink popped out.

Interesting. Perhaps something she would discuss with Lucius. Just in that one short interaction, Tink was far happier, and all she changed was saying “please” and “thank you” while using a slightly less haughty tone. Harry might be on to something with that.

Narcissa finished her pruning and called the boys back down after another hour. It would be lunchtime soon, and she wanted them to be inside during the heat of the day. Harry and Draco had apparently continued the house elf discussion because when they landed, Harry called for Dobby.

“What can Dobby bes doing for Master Harry?” Dobby squeaked.

“Dobby, could you return our brooms to the storage shed and bring some water to Draco’s room for us, please?” Harry asked politely.

“Yes, Master Harry, Dobby will bes doing that right now,” Dobby said with a boy, took the brooms and popped away.

“I’m taking Harry to my room to play now, Mother,” Draco said to the Malfoy Matriarch.

“Of course, dear,” Narcissa approved.

“Blessed be, Mother,” Draco offered.

“Blessed be, Cissa,” Harry parroted.

“Blessed be, boys,” Narcissa returned with a smile. “I’ll send an elf when it’s time for lunch.”

The boys nodded and Draco grabbed Harry’s hand to lead him off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Memorial Day to those in the US. Have a holiday chapter :)


	8. Chapter 7 - Tutoring Bonds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Previously: First morning at Malfoy Manor
> 
> In this chapter: First afternoon at Malfoy Manor

###  _ Tuesday, August 16, 1988 (continued) _

After a relaxed lunch with Narcissa and Draco, Harry was shown to the school room to await Draco’s tutor, Mr. Morgan. Harry hadn’t waited long when Dobby popped in to announce him. He had been told the tutor was being sworn to secrecy regarding Harry’s identity, but he was still nervous about another new person.

“Master Harry sir’s tutor, Mr. Morgan, bes here,” Dobby said with a bow.

“Thank you, Dobby, you may show him in,” Harry responded.

Dobby popped out and a moment later, Mr. Morgan was entering the room. Harry took a quick stock of his appearance, a relic of his time with the Dursleys. Mr. Morgan was tall, close to 6 feet, but shorter than Lucius. His hair was a rather nondescript brown, cut in a rather normal style. His eyes were brown, but didn’t look harsh. His posture was perfect, and his face appealing, again, in a rather forgettable way. All in all, he looked very average, though pleasing.

“Good afternoon, Heir Potter, my name is Perseus Morgan, and I have been engaged to tutor you along with Heir Malfoy this fall,” Mr. Morgan said with a perfectly correct bow of one of lesser station to the Heir of a house, not that Harry knew that to be the case.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Morgan,” Harry said politely. “Please be seated and tell me what I am to do for you today.”

“Before we begin your assessment, I will tell you a little bit about myself. It is never too early to begin with instruction of wixen culture and my brief background could provide you with several small pieces of information that you would do well to remember,” Mr. Morgan said with a stern look, though not at all a mean one, as Harry had cause to know. Harry nodded at this pronouncement.

“As stated previously, my name is Perseus Morgan. You have done well to address me as Mr. Morgan, as House Morgan is a Minor house. I am the 7th generation Mr. Morgan, as yet unbonded, and my family has been engaged as private tutors for the entirety of the House’s existence as we have been quite skilled in History. I was a protege of Lady Augusta Longbottom in etiquette prior to the death of her Lord Husband and subsequent shift into politics as the Regent Longbottom with the unfortunate circumstances of her son and his wife. As a tutor to the wealthy and influential, I offer education in Family and House history, etiquette, languages, and Wixen Tradition. If you display an affinity for any of the more artistic pursuits such as drawing or music, we will have to find you a suitable instructor with that talent specifically,” Mr. Morgan finished his brief biography.

Harry nodded again, knowing that for many adults, children should be seen and not heard.

“Any questions, Heir Potter?” Mr. Morgan asked.

Harry shook his head.

“As your instructor, I would prefer the honor of hearing you voice your answers please, Heir Potter,” Mr. Morgan chided.

“No, sir, I have no questions at this time,” Harry responded obediently.

“That’s better,” Mr. Morgan nodded. “Now for your assessment. Lord Malfoy has indicated that you were attending muggle primary school and would have started your 4th year September 1st, is that correct, Heir Potter?” 

“Yes, Mr. Morgan,” Harry replied.

“Very well then,” Mr. Morgan continued, “you will complete these assessment papers which should cover what you have completed in your first 3 years, though I have included the 4th and 5th years as well. Do not worry if you do not know the answer, just answer what you can. I will specifically tailor your education to you, so please, do your best. Once you have finished with these on the traditional muggle subjects of English, Spelling, Reading Comprehension, Mathematics, Muggle British History, World Geography, and Basic Science, I will provide assessment sheets for Astronomy, as it is important in for both potions and ritual magic, several other languages to see if you have any sort of existing affinity for a specific language other than English, as well as a written etiquette assessment. I will evaluate your penmanship on all assessments, so do write legibly. We will also take tea this afternoon for a bit of practical etiquette assessment, so do be aware of your behavior.” 

“Yes, Mr. Morgan,” Harry responded with a nod.

“You will begin with English, spelling, reading, and maths and you will have two hours to complete whatever you can. You may request a break for the rest room or to stretch as needed. Then we will break and take tea. After tea you will continue with Muggle British History, World Geography, and Science. You will have two hours for the second set of tests as well. I have been invited to dine with the Malfoy family this eve, and so once you have completed the second set of assessments, we will break for dinner. After dinner we will finish with 2 hours for Astronomy, etiquette, and languages. If you have a preference for any artistic pursuits, please discuss that at dinner with the Malfoys so appropriate arrangements can be made. Any questions on this afternoon’s schedule?” Mr. Morgan queried.

“None, sir,” Harry replied. “I’m ready to begin.”

“Very good, here is your first set of assessments,” Mr. Morgan said as he handed over several sheets.

Harry went to the desk and sat, pulling out a pencil and eraser as well as a fountain pen. His head bent studiously over the pages as he began writing in short order. Harry was surprised to see a wizard who had knowledge of the muggle education system, but he supposed it was needed if one were going to tutor wixen who might one day need to go about in the muggle world without bringing attention to themselves. Harry had certainly never noticed anything magical about anyone, other than his own strangeness, prior to Lucius and Severus coming to get him. He shook his head and returned his thoughts to the matter at hand. The questions weren’t terribly difficult and he made good time getting through them.

Harry paused about an hour into his first assessment period and raised his hand. Mr. Morgan noted this with a slight smirk.

“Yes, Heir Potter?” he said, “though in future you may just state my name to gain my attention. Only having yourself and Heir Malfoy does make such affectations as raising one’s hand unnecessary.”

“Yes, Mr. Morgan,” Harry said. “May I have a drink of water?”

“Of course Heir Potter. You may call your elf to bring one,” Mr. Morgan replied.

“I don’t have an elf, sir,” Harry said.

“I believe the Malfoys indicated they assigned an elf to your well being. It would have assisted you to get dressed, guided you about the manor, and provided anything you required during the course of this day,” Mr. Morgan indicated the situation concisely.

“Oh! You mean Dobby!” Harry said, pleased to know his friend would be able to stay with him while he was here.

“Dobby!” Harry said clearly.

“What can Dobby bes doing for Master Harry sir?” Dobby said when he had popped in.

“May I please have a glass of water, please?” Harry requested of the diminutive elf.

“Yes, Master Harry, right aways, sir.” Dobby said with a bow, snapping his fingers as he stood. A tray with two glasses, a pitcher of water with ice, and a small dish of lemon and lime slices popped into being on a side table. Dobby snapped again and the pitcher poured water into a glass. The lemon and lime bowl floated up and Harry shook his head, so it returned to the tray. Dobby picked up the glass and brought it to Harry.

“Thank you, Dobby,” Harry said gratefully.

Dobby pulled his ears in pleasure. “Will that be all Master Harry, sir?” he asked, nearly vibrating with the happiness of serving such a kind master.

“Yes, thank you, Dobby,” Harry dismissed the elf kindly. 

Mr. Morgan had observed this interaction carefully and noted how polite Harry was to the elf, as well as how happily the elf served him. This was an interesting development, one he would need to discuss with the Malfoys at a later time.

After Harry finished his water, he returned to the assessment pages. He hadn’t realized he was so close to be finished with the first set, and so far, he’d been able to answer every question. After about 15 minutes, he completed the final page.

“Mr. Morgan?” Harry hesitantly said, trying to get the tutor’s attention.

“Yes, Heir Potter?” Mr. Morgan replied.

“I’m finished,” Harry indicated the small stack of papers in front of him.

Mr. Morgan cast a tempus, rather taken aback to see that Harry had completed all the sheets and still had 45 minutes of his scheduled 2 hours remaining.

“Did you check your work, or go back to look over any you may have skipped previously?” He questioned gently.

“I did check my work, but I didn’t need to skip any questions,” Harry stated matter-of-factly.

“I see,” Mr. Morgan continued, “Well, bring them here. As you’ve just had a glass of water, I assume you’re not in need of tea, so I won’t push our break forward. Would you perhaps like to start on one of the other subjects and we’ll take a break in about 45 minutes as we previously discussed?”

Harry had walked over with the sheets while he was speaking and nodded. “That sounds fine to me, sir.”

“Why don’t you take these sheets on Astronomy so you’ll have a longer block of time for the languages after dinner?” Mr. Morgan indicated the appropriate stack.

Harry nodded again and returned to the desk. He bent to his work immediately, and again, made good time in completing it. He finished in a little under the 45 minutes Mr. Morgan had scheduled till his break, so he looked back through the pages to ensure he hadn’t missed anything. When Mr. Morgan called a halt, he was ready to turn in his assessment.

Mr. Morgan nodded when Harry turned in the tests and guided him over to a tea table. Dobby and another elf were popping in and out with the tea things and various small, easy to eat snacks for their break. “Very good work, Heir Potter. Now we will take tea and I will evaluate your manners and etiquette.”

Harry stood and made his way over to the table. He tilted his head as he took in the seating arrangement curiously before turning to Mr. Morgan to ask, “should I bow or introduce myself before being seated, or is there some other ‘being seated ritual’ of which I am unaware?”

“That is an appropriate question, Heir Potter,” Mr. Morgan praised with a smile and nod. Normally, you would be entering someone’s home for the purpose of tea and conversation at this time of day. Since we have already made our opening greetings when I arrived, we will begin with actually taking tea. You will have plenty of opportunity to practice the intricacies of introduction with the Malfoys, no doubt. Their circle of acquaintance is rather large.”

“Okay,” Harry responded. He gestured towards the chairs, having picked up from Mr. Morgan’s manner of addressing him that he was perhaps of a higher rank, and therefore should be the host of this tea, and said, “please, join me for tea.”

“Thank you,” Mr. Morgan responded genially.

Harry went into what he privately thought of as his “serving-mode,” from when he assisted his aunt with her garden parties and dinners, picking up the teapot to pour both cups. He picked up the sugar and spoon asking, “Do you take sugar?”

“One spoon, please,” Mr. Morgan replied.

Harry added one spoon to his own cup, never having had the opportunity to try his tea sweetened before, before setting the sugar bowl back where it came from. He did the same with the milk, only foregoing it’s addition to his own cup, wanting to try only one alteration to his accustomed plain tea at a time. He handed the completed cup of tea balanced on it’s saucer over to Mr. Morgan, who took it delicately. 

As he pulled his hands away, he waved his hand encompassing the snacks set around them and said, “please, help yourself to anything you like.”

“Thank you, I will,” Mr. Morgan replied.

They sipped their tea in companionable silence for a few moments, each selecting a pastry or two for their light repast.

“You mentioned, Mr. Morgan,” Harry began speaking, hoping some conversation would be acceptable since Mr. Morgan had mentioned it specifically, “that your family has been tutors for some generations now. Do you enjoy your profession, or is it only that you happen to have a talent for it?” His speech slipped into the upper echelon type of speaking he had employed on adults after some of his reading in the library at school. It always seemed to make the teachers respond better, as it was more their level.

“Indeed, Heir Potter,” Mr. Morgan picked up the conversational olive branch, “my family has been tutors, and not only because we have a talent for it. I can only think it would be quite disheartening to be forced merely by one’s talent into a profession one disliked. I enjoy my work very much. The opportunity to assist young minds to grow and develop, and to see that development and guide it has always been a singular pleasure.”

Harry nodded, “I had a wonderful librarian, Mrs. Cooper, who said something very similar to me once. She was extremely helpful in guiding my out-of-class reading. In-class reading as well, of course, that was her job, but she took the time to understand my interests and point me to more in depth works as well as other topics which she thought I would find enjoyable. It is a gift to have someone like that.”

Mr. Morgan took in Harry’s rather mature response. He concluded that this child had been much in the company of adults, and not often encouraged to be a child. Terrible for him to have grown up so quickly, but he was clearly ready and willing to be guided in his learning. Mr. Morgan hoped that his insight was not merely something parroted from others, but that he would take his education as seriously as his comments implied.

“And you, Heir Potter,” Mr. Morgan continued the conversation, “do you have anything which has so far captured your interest, perhaps under the guidance of your good Mrs. Cooper?”

“I enjoy a number of things. History has been of interest as those that do not learn from it are doomed to repeat it. But I also enjoy lighter topics as well, though I have not been given much opportunity to expand on my enjoyment,” Harry finished, somewhat deprecatingly.

Mr. Morgan sensed a story there, but opted not to pursue it at the current time. This was, after all, supposed to be tea and light conversation, not something heavy which might jeopardize young Heir Potter’s assessments for the rest of the day.

They continued on in polite discourse and discussed trivial things such as the weather they both enjoyed and the quality of the refreshments. Harry paused at one point, noting Mr. Morgan’s cup was nearly empty, and began the process of refilling it, remembering how he had taken it the first time, and replicating it perfectly. Mr. Morgan noted the outcome, pleased that he already had some skill as a host. Perhaps his etiquette training would not be too onerous.

They finished their tea and conversation politely, the elves popping in to remove the dishes as they stepped away from the table and back to their respective desks.

“Now, as you have already completed Astronomy, you have only muggle British History, World Geography, and the basic sciences. You may have, if needed, the full two hours I scheduled, even though you’ve already completed one of the subjects I had intended you to do during this time,” Mr. Morgan brought Harry’s attention back to the matter at hand.

“Yes, sir,” Harry replied. Now that he had been talking for a bit, he was rather pleased to get back to being silent and working on something he knew how to handle. He took the proffered assessments, and got straight to work. His enjoyment of History would have assisted in his speedy completion, however it had instead the opposite effect, and caused his answers to be rather longer than they otherwise would have been. He needed every bit of the two hours provided to complete everything, and had even felt a bit rushed when he got to the sciences after a quick restroom and stretch break. 

But he did manage to complete them all, much to Mr. Morgan’s pleasure, and slight confusion. He had not worked with a child who was capable of doing so much and staying so focused for as long as young Heir Potter had been. He took that as a good sign for their working relationship in the future and was hopeful for his reputation to grow as a result of such a student. He gathered the pages just as Dobby popped in to announce dinner.


	9. Chapter 8: Growing Bonds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Previously: First afternoon at Malfoy Manor
> 
> In this chapter: First evening at Malfoy Manor

###  _ Tuesday, August 16, 1988 (continued) _

Harry happily followed Dobby along with Mr. Morgan down to the dining room. He was a bit hungry, even with the break mid-afternoon for tea. The Malfoys were waiting for them when they arrived.

“Good evening, Mr. Morgan,” Lucius greeted as they entered the room.   
  


“Good evening, Lord Malfoy, Lady Malfoy,” Mr. Morgan responded correctly.

“Good evening,” Narcissa replied.

“Good evening, Mr. Morgan,” Draco parroted his mother, somewhat displeased to see he would have to use his formal manners. He hadn’t known his tutor would be staying for dinner.

“Good evening, Heir Malfoy,” Mr. Morgan responded with a slight smile, correctly interpreting the slight scowl on his young charge’s face. He too remembered the wish to forego etiquette when he was young.

“How were your assessments, Harry?” Narcissa asked the young man.

“They were quite interesting, Cissa,” Harry replied, showing a bit of animation. “They were all things I knew already, but it was good to review.”

Lord Malfoy’s eyebrows rose at the implication, knowing Mr. Morgan had provided test sheets for higher levels than Harry should have been at. “Severus will be joining us momentarily. He flooed this afternoon to say he would be delayed slightly from joining us as he had a potion in a very tricky state.

“Oh, Sev will be here?” Harry asked, happily.

“Yes,” Lucius responded with a smile.

Harry nodded, please that he would be able to see the man who was friends with his mother again. The group spoke of other inconsequential things while they waited for Severus so they could begin the meal. He arrived in a flurry of black, his robes billowing out behind him, apologizing profusely for his tardiness.

“Dumbledore requested a rather tricky potion just this morning and set a nearly impossible timeline. I apologize for my tardiness, I hope I haven’t inconvenienced anyone,” Severus said with his usual trademark scowl. Anything to do with Dumbledore was guaranteed to put him in a bad mood.

“Of course not, Severus,” Narcissa responded with a smile. “We are so pleased you could join us this evening.”

“I am, as always, pleased to be here,” he said to his lady love, keeping everything within the bounds of propriety due to the tutor’s presence and Harry’s ignorance of the situation.

“Mr. Morgan, you will have to excuse us, it has been some time since we have been able to be en famille, please, be seated and be comfortable. No need to stand on ceremony this evening. Harry is too new to our world for us to reasonably expect his adherence to our level of manner. Let us speak freely,” Narcissa ordered nicely. And one did not ignore an order, no matter how veiled, from the Lady Malfoy.

“Of course,” he responded, being seated with the rest.

“Do tell us, Mr. Morgan,” Lucius began the conversation with his soup, “how Harry did on his assessments.”

“I cannot provide the full details at this time as I have not yet completed their review, but I can say that Heir Potter completed them in remarkable time considering I gave him assessments from all of his completed years of muggle study as well as the year he would have been entering and the next.”

All the adult eyebrows rose at that pronouncement, and Draco looked a little put out.

“He does not appear to have skipped any questions either, from what I have been able to go over. Of course I will evaluate his responses over the next days and will write with his final results so we may best decide how to incorporate his instruction with young Heir Malfoy,” Mr. Morgan continued. “We will be completing his languages assessment as well as the written etiquette assessment after dinner, but I do not anticipate it will take him the entire 2 hours we allotted. He completed the English, spelling, reading, and maths portion in one hour and fifteen minutes.”

Severus’ composure nearly cracked at the knowledge that he had clearly inherited Lily’s penchant for schoolwork. He was sad Lily couldn’t be present to see how well her son was turning out, even with the utter incompetence of Harry’s magical guardian and the detestable Dursleys. While he was pleased to see his studiousness, he also wanted Harry to have fun and get the chance to be a child. Hopefully not one like the Marauders who were always more focused on their pranks and bullying. Knowledge was a great power, even in the wixen world.

Mr. Morgan turned to Harry, “Do you know if you have any artistic pursuits you wish to begin or continue?”

“Well…” Harry said thoughtfully. “I did lots of gardening, but I didn’t really like it much.” He paused unsure if he could come up with anything. “Oh, I know!” he said, hitting on just the thing. “I’d like to do something with sewing...or clothes? I told Lucius and Sev that all the clothes I worked on held up in the garden better. I’d like to learn more of that!” He wasn’t sure if he liked sewing or working on clothes, but it had been a welcome respite from harder manual labor at the Dursleys, and if he could learn to do whatever it was that made the clothes last better, it would be such a help. He didn’t want to rely on the Malfoys to provide him everything in the future. Perhaps it would become his trade!

“A threadwizard?!?” Narcissa whispered, almost lost in the tinkling of the dishes as they ate.

Lucius nodded at her, not speaking, not wishing to draw Harry’s attention.

“That’s an interesting choice,” Severus stepped into the gap.

“I’m sure we can speak with one of the tailors to see if they’d be interested in taking you as a part time apprentice,” Narciss composed herself enough to add. 

“Perhaps Twilfitt and Tattings would be interested,” Lucius commented.

“I had intended to take Harry shopping tomorrow as he is quite without anything necessary, I can mention the matter when we stop into their shop,” Narcissa agreed.

“Indeed, I will send a letter as well, just so they know it has been sanctioned,” Lucius continued with ease. “He will need it as a minor.”

“Of course, Lucius dear,” Narcissa replied.

“But Mother, I wanted to go flying again!” Draco finally joined the conversation with a whine.

“Draco!” Lucius cut through intensely. “Education is extremely important, and Harry did not grow up as you did with everything he needed. You will have many opportunities to play with Harry in the future, do not cause problems at the start.”

Draco’s eyes dropped to his plate, a faint pink tinting his cheeks. “Yes, Father,” he responded quietly.

“I did enjoy flying, Draco,” Harry whispered as the adults continued discussing his educational plans. “Maybe we’ll have time before we leave? Or after we come back?”

Draco glanced up at the adults and seeing them absorbed in their own conversation, looked back to Harry nodding rapidly, a smile creeping onto his face. “That sounds good,” he whispered back.

Conversation had progressed smoothly through the dinner courses and dessert had been served. Harry was pleased to have a slice of his favorite treacle tart, and a small bowl of fruit on the side. He had rarely gotten to have the ripe red strawberries, or tart pineapple which was present. And there was a light green melon he had never seen before. The mixed fruit was bright and colorful, and the tastes exploded on his tongue. He thought it was almost as good as his tart. Almost.

The boys had been carrying on whispered conversation while the adults hammered out the details regarding the time of their tutoring sessions, accounting for the need of different instructors for Draco and Harry’s elective study. Hopefully they would be able to schedule their time out of the manor to coincide, otherwise their joint lessons would be far more difficult to coordinate. This topic was mostly uninteresting to the boys, so Draco had been telling Harry about some of his toys (a moving model of Hogwarts, and wizarding games like Gobstones and Exploding Snap), and Harry had talked about some card games he had seen the Dursley’s play (Go Fish and War) since he had never had toys. Draco was very confused by the muggle games, as Harry was with the wizarding, but they enjoyed the other’s conversation nonetheless. They finally agreed that they would ask Lucius and Severus to teach them to play chess. Neither of them knew how to play, and decided they were quite old enough to begin.

“Father,” Draco said, just as Harry spoke, “Sev?”

Both men turned to look at the youngsters. “Yes?” they responded in perfect synchronicity.

Harry and Draco exchanged a look and Harry nodded his head to tell Draco to speak. 

“Would you teach us to play chess?” Draco asked.

It was Lucius and Severus’ turn to exchange looks. They smirked. “Of course,” they replied. We’ll add it to the weekend potions sessions.

“Great!” Draco exclaimed while Harry nodded shyly. 

Seeing that they were finished, Mr. Morgan spoke up, “Heir Potter, if you are finished, perhaps we could get started on the remainder of your assessments? I do not believe you will need much time to complete them.” 

“Yes, that’s fine,” Harry nodded.

“We will await you in the family parlour when you’re finished, Harry,” Lucius said kindly.

Harry nodded as he stood.

“Blessed be,” he offered shyly, remembering Draco saying it when they left breakfast.

“Blessed be,” the others echoed as he and Mr. Morgan exited the room.

“That was very well done, Heir Potter,” Mr. Morgan states as they returned to the schoolroom. You are already following the social cues you’ve experienced and you’ve only been here one day. I’m quite favorably impressed.”

“Thank you, Mr. Morgan,” Harry said quietly. 

“Here are your final assessments: Etiquette, Latin, French, Spanish, German, and Italian. I do not expect that you’ll know much, if any, of these, but do your best. It will help us determine if you will have any skill for languages, though you will take Latin regardless.”

“That will be fine,” Harry responded promptly. “I studied Latin in school.”

“Really?” Mr. Morgan prompted.

“The school I went to was a pilot program for some new thing for secondary school preparation. If it hadn’t been the local school, the Dursleys would never have allowed me to go, but it was just part of what we did. I was glad because it would make getting into secondary school easier, and hopefully help me get a scholarship. The Dursley’s certainly weren’t going to pay for any of it.” Harry finished rather bitterly.

“Interesting,” Mr. Morgan commented, handing over the pages. As before, Harry immediately set to work.

He finished in good time, taking about an hour and half. 

“I finished them, Mr. Morgan,” Harry said politely when he was done. “The Latin was easy. And French, Spanish, and Italian have lots of similar words. I think they must be related.”

“Indeed they are,” Mr. Morgan replied. “It is interesting that you noticed. Now, everything appears to be in order, so I will escort you to the family parlour.”

“Thank you,” Harry said with a smile. Harry liked Mr. Morgan. He was firm, but not strict, and was nice to him as well. He even praised him for his skills. Harry’s thoughts continued in this vein while they walked.

When they arrived at the family parlour, Mr. Morgan released Harry to go play with Draco while he had a brief conversation with Lord Malfoy regarding Harry’s words about Latin and the other languages. He was very excited by his new pupil, and was looking forward to seeing how he had performed. He indicated the results would be to Lord Malfoy by the end of the week so they’d have another full plus a few days to prepare before tutoring started for the year. When their conversation was finished, he left.

Harry had installed himself next to Draco, who was sitting with Severus. Draco was explaining that Severus was his godfather, and he was excited to be learning potions with him. Severus was enjoying the time with his godson and allowed his stiff exterior to relax. He allowed the chatter of the two boys to wash over him as he sipped his drink and watched Narcissa working on her needlepoint. Lucius was going over some documents he had received earlier in the day from the ministry. Once he had reached a stopping place, he set his work down and glanced around the room at his family, now increased by the addition of the remarkable little boy sitting next to his son.

“Harry?” Lucius asked, gaining the young man’s attention.

“Yes?” Harry replied.

“Tomorrow, you will be shopping with Narcissa and Draco. I know you did not wish to bring anything with you from the muggles, so we will be getting you everything you need.” He shared a fond look with his wife and continued, “And knowing Narcissa, several you don’t.”

Severus chuckled, “Truer words were never spoken my friend. We all know of Narcissa’s love of shopping.”

“Mother, will we get toys, too?” Draco asked.

“Of course, Draco,” Narcissa replied. “We’ll be stopping by Twilfitt and Tattings first for his clothes and to see about his possible apprenticeship. Then we’ll go for toys, books, personal care items, and anything else we come up with. Perhaps even a broom?” She finished somewhat mischievously.

“A broom?” Draco asked excitedly. 

“I’ll have my very own broom?” Harry asked in a whisper, wide eyed.

“Your very own broom,” Narcissa said with a decisive nod.

“Don’t forget their beginners potion kits,” put in Severus. “If you go to Slugs and Jiggers, tell them I sent you for my personal students’ beginner kits. They’ll know what you need.”

“Of course, my heart,” Narcissa replied. Harry looked at her confused.

“Oh, dear,” Narcissa said looking abashed. “I completely forgot you don’t know…” she trailed off.

“Narcissa and I are married,” Lucius picked up the tale, “however we are not in love, nor are we entirely compatible. Do you know anything about secondary genders, Harry?” Harry shook his head no.

“I am an alpha. Normally an alpha bonds with an omega as they have the best chance to have children easily, and to have powerful children at that. Cissa is a beta. Alphas and Betas can have children, but it is much more difficult. We were lucky enough that Severus was able to assist us to have Draco.”

“Our marriage is open, and we have been friends since before we were bonded,” Narcissa continued the story. “Lucius does not love me, nor I him. Unfortunately, our bond can only be annulled if he finds his omega partner.”

“Which has not yet occurred,” Lucius finished. Harry nodded with some slight understanding.

“Mother didn’t want children so soon, she wanted to go into healing. But the Malfoys required an heir, so father and mother asked Severus to help them with his potions. Mother and Severus became closer friends when he was here helping with her pregnancy, and with me as I was still ill regularly until I was about 3,” Draco put in, having heard the story of how his Mother and Severus fell in love multiple times. “They spent so much time together, they fell in love.”

“But,” here Severus cut in, “until Lucius and Narcissa can be divorced, Lucius knows about Narcissa and I being together.”

“I do not begrudge either of you your happiness, and were I able, I would end our marriage now so you two could be together,” Lucius said with a fond smile at the two of them.

“I know,” Narcissa replied with a smile. “But until that happy day, Harry, just know that while in public, we are Lady Narcissa Malfoy and Lord Severus Prince, friends, but in private, we are Cissa and Sev, lovers.”

Harry nodded, somewhat overwhelmed with the information after his already long day, and somewhat taxing afternoon. Lucius picked up on his growing tiredness.

“Draco, Harry, time for pajamas and get ready for bed,” Lucius instructed.

They nodded and ran from the room. They had discovered at lunch that their rooms were across from each other, and so they disappeared together. Once both had changed into their pajamas (Harry still wearing Draco’s old ones, as he was smaller than the slightly older boy) and finished their nightly ablutions, they returned to the parlour for hugs and goodnights.

Draco led the way into the room, dashing to his godfather first, then his father, and mother. Harry followed a bit more slowly, never having had good night hugs before. He went first to Lucius, who enfolded him gently and wished him goodnight. Then to Narcissa, who squeezed him a bit, and pressed a kiss to his forehead. And finally to Sev, who hugged him as if unaccustomed to hugs, but willing all the same. He had a small shock when Harry fisted his robes as if unwilling to let go. Belatedly he remembered he was the only tie Harry had left to his family, and so he gave Harry another squeeze before gently disentangling his hands. 

“Would you like me to tuck you in?” Severus asked Harry.

Harry thought for a moment before nodding slowly. Severus nodded, and extended his hand for Harry to grasp. Draco observed their interaction and then looked pleadingly at his mother. She gave him a fond smile as she, too, stood and extended a hand towards her son. 

“Blessed be,” Draco said as they passed his father.

“Blessed be,” Harry offered as he and Severus followed.

“Blessed be,” Lucius responded to both with a smile.

Narcissa and Severus allowed the two 8 year olds to guide them to their rooms. Narcissa went with Draco to tuck him in and press one last kiss to his forehead. Once she had closed his door, she turned towards Harry’s room, intending to kiss him goodnight as well. She took one step into the room, saw what was happening, and stopped without drawing attention. It seems Severus had summoned or conjured a Tales of Beedle the Bard and was reading the Tale of the Three Brothers to Harry whose valiant attempts at staying awake were becoming a losing battle. He had been tucked in and was grasping his blue blanket with the lily next to his face. His eyes drifted shut for the last time. Severus continued another sentence or two to make sure he was truly asleep, and then closed the book quietly and laid it aside with a sigh. 

“I’m so sorry, Lily,” He whispered brokenly. “I’ll do my best to protect him for you now.”

Narcissa stepped forward and grasped his hand. She smoothed the hair away from his eyes, taking in the sadness contained within as she pressed a light kiss to his cheek. She released his hand to smooth the covers over Harry as she bent over to press a kiss to his forehead as she had done only minutes ago with her son.

“He will be protected now, as best we can,” Narcissa assured him. 

Severus nodded as they turned and left the room.


	10. Chapter 9: Cousin Bonds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Previously: First evening at Malfoy Manor
> 
> In this chapter: Shopping, and a meeting at Gringotts

###  _ Wednesday, August 17, 1988 _

The morning dawned, bright and early, with birdsong, puffy white clouds, and sunshine streaming in the windows. It was already warm outside, and would likely end up quite hot. Thank goodness for cooling charms, Narcissa thought when she was up and looking out the window before starting her day. 

“Tink,” she called, ready to begin getting ready. Tink popped in and bowed.

“I’d like my mint white summer dress, please, the one that has that wonderful floral embroidery on the hem, the mint green organza robe, and my white wedge sandals, the silver studded ones. Oh, and would you please pick some earrings for me, Tink? I’m not sure what I’m in the mood for this morning,” Narcissa gave her orders in a pleasant tone, and remembered to say please.

“Yes, Mistress,” Tink replied, somewhat in awe of this new, kinder treatment.

While Narcissa was getting ready in her wing of the house, two excitable boys were also preparing for their day.

“Tansy!” Draco called, and spoke again as soon as she popped in. “We’re going shopping today, so I need light clothes with cooling charms. Oh, and find something for Harry as well and give it to his elf.”

“Yes, Master Draco,” Tansy replied, feeling a bit sorry for herself after both Tink and Dobby talked about how kind the masters had been yesterday.

She popped and snapped her way around the room, cleaning up, making the bed, stoking the fire, and selecting clothes as she went. She placed a pair of navy linen trousers on the bed with a white button down shirt and a lightweight cotton robe in light blue with silver embroidery at the cuffs and hems. The robe had silver buttons with more of the embroidered patterns down the front opening. She selected a pair of brown dress shoes, charmed for fit and comfort to go with it.

As Master Harry did not yet have his own clothing, Tansy then popped away to the storage closet where young Master Draco’s old things were kept. She’d have to find something for Master Harry there. Tansy sent a pulse through the house elf bond requesting that Dobby attend her so he could assist in the selection, and to ensure the clothing would fit. As luck would have it, Dobby popped in immediately as his friend Master Harry was in the bath.

Together they looked through the closet, selecting options and discarding. They decided on black silk trousers, an Emerald green button down shirt which Dobby was certain would match Master Harry’s eyes, and a silvery grey over robe in acromantula silk that had a slight sheen, but no other adornment than its silver buttons. Dobby snapped his fingers for the black dress shoes young Master Harry had worn the previous day, and popped away with the clothing in hand.

Harry was just exiting the bath when Dobby popped in and began to lay out his clothes. 

“Thank you, Dobby,” Harry said smiling, “Those look wonderful!”

“You is being welcome, Master Harry,” Dobby replied. “All pieces is being lights and cools and bes staying that way all day.”

“That sounds great, Dobby!” Harry responded, eagerly beginning to dress.

Dobby snapped his fingers and the bottle of hair tonic flew in. “Three drops, Master Harry,” he reminded the raven haired boy.

Harry applied the tonic to tame his hair and deemed himself ready.

Dobby nodded, bowed, and popped out just as there was a knock on Harry’s door. He dashed over to open it, and found Draco, looking very cool in his blue and white ensemble.

Draco looked over Harry’s appearance and said, “That was one of my favorites, but the green just didn’t work on me. I’m glad you can wear it.”

“Me, too!” Harry responded excitedly. “Good morning, by the way.”

“Good morning,” Draco responded. “Are you ready for shopping?” Harry nodded, nearly bouncing on his feet with the excitement of getting to buy things for himself for the first time.

“Mother can shop all day, so we’d best get to breakfast. I don’t want to shop on an empty stomach,” Draco stated emphatically.

“Let’s go, then,” Harry responded playfully, grabbing Draco’s hand and both of them dashing off down the stairs, much to the disapproval of the Malfoy portraits in the hall.

When they arrived in the dining room, they found both the Lord and Lady of the house already seated and sipping cups of tea.

“Good morning father, mother,” Draco said somewhat breathlessly as they entered the room.

“Good morning Lucius, Cissa,” Harry echoed.

“Good morning, boys,” they responded.

Narcissa continued, “Now boys, we need to discuss the plan for our day. The main point being that Harry Potter cannot be seen with the Lady and Heir Malfoy.”

Lucius nodded. “You are not supposed to be away from your Aunt and Uncle, Harry, so I pulled this from the family safe last night after you went to bed.” He handed Harry a woven silver ring. “This ring holds a fixed glamour. It will pull a very small amount of your magic to keep the glamour charms set into the metal powered. The charms cannot be cancelled or lifted so long as the ring is in contact with your skin. You should wear it on the middle finger of your right hand, it should resize to fit.”

Harry slid the ring on his finger, and a shudder went through him as the ring resized, latching on to a trickle of his magic, and forced the physical glamour charms on his slight body. Lucius helpfully conjured a mirror so Harry could see his new appearance. His black hair lightened to a honey highlighted brown though it kept it’s unruly mien; his skin tone lightened, but only a little; his lips became just a touch more full, and definitely more red; and his eyes shifted from emerald to a silver flecked jade. All in all, he looked rather cute, but not memorable

Narcissa clapped her hands, “Oh, that’s just perfect! You’ve Aunt Dorea’s hair, she’s your grandmother darling, and a bit of the Black’s silver eyes showing through your green. Your skin must be from your mother’s family as I don’t recall any Potter or Black having skin like that. We should be able to pass you as a Black cousin from France. Hmm… you’ll need a name...We can’t call you Harry, that would be too odd when you disappear in time for Hogwarts and Harry Potter shows up,” Narcissa was thinking out loud.

“Rigel,” Lucius suggested. “It fits the Black family naming convention, and the diminutive is Reggie if Harry prefers.”

“Rigel is fine,” Harry replied. “Rigel, Rigel, Rigel… just need to get used to it.”

“We will all call you that starting now and while we are out. No need to be too concerned if you forget to answer while we’re in public today, we can always brush it off as the excitement over your first trip to England, Rigel,” Narcissa concluded. “And you may find you respond more naturally to Reggie, as it’s a similar sound to Harry.”

“Cousin Rigel?” Draco asked.

“Yes, Draco?” Harry responded with an arched brow.

“Nothing, just practicing,” Draco smirked back.

“Well, now that’s settled, eat your breakfast boys, lots to be getting on with you know,” Narcissa interrupted any further discussion.

Once the boys were finished with their breakfast, they bid goodbye to the Malfoy patriarch, and went with Narcissa to the receiving room to floo to the Leaky Cauldron. Narcissa threw a handful of the sparkling green powder into the flames, grasped both boys’ hands tightly, while they pressed against her sides, said, “Diagon Alley,” and they whooshed away. Harry stumbled a bit as they exited, but managed to keep his feet. Narcissa swished her wand to banish the soot from their hair and clothes, and guided the boys through the pub and into the alleyway that housed the entrance to Diagon Alley. She tapped the bricks in a specific order, and Harry watched, fascinated, as the bricks began to rotate, creating an arched entryway to the shopping street behind.

Harry gasped as they walked through, and tried to take in everything at once. He was certain he looked like a gawking imbecile, but he couldn’t help himself. It was all so new and different...and...and magical! Narcissa let him stare for a few moments before grasping his hand, along with Draco’s, and leading them off to their first stop of the day, Twilfitt and Tatting's. She wanted to get there before the rush and hoped the two gifted tailors would be able to have at least part of Harry’s wardrobe ready before they left the alley, likely later this evening. And if she could secure her young charge an apprenticeship, so much the better.

A manikin sitting inside the display window turned to open the door for them as they approached, and returned to its position as they entered. A rather short, balding man in impeccable black robes stepped forward to greet Narcissa as they entered.

“The Lady Malfoy, and Heir Malfoy,” the gentleman said with an obsequious bow. “But who is this?”

“Blessed be, Mr. Twilfitt,” Narcissa greeted the man. “This is my young cousin, come to visit, Master Rigel Black.”

“Mr. Black,” the man now known as Mr. Twilfitt nodded to Harry. He nodded back, unsure of the appropriate comment to make.

“Reggie would like to partake in your fine fashions, Mr. Twilfitt, as I have quite raved about the quality. He indicated his desire for a complete wardrobe, as he has grown more than the growth charms on the clothes he brought with him allowed. Reggie will be staying with us, likely for a year or two at least, so if he is pleased, I’m certain his family will allow him to make additional purchases from your fine establishment,” Narcissa continued.

“Yes, yes, I’m certain we can accommodate him,” Mr. Twilfitt responded, galleon signs dancing in his eyes. “Please step onto the pedestal, Mr. Black, and remove your outer robe.”

Harry jumped up on the block as Mr. Twilfitt threw a tape measure at him that began wrapping itself around various parts of his body, taking his measurements entirely on its own. Narcissa began an in depth discussion of the wardrobe requirements including fabrics (Oh, he simply must have acromantula silk, and those fabulous blend trousers, you know, the ones Lucius favors?), colors (Green, did you see his eyes, blue, silver, black, naturally), and styles (oh, he simply needs everything, Mr. Twilfitt, dress robes, casual wear, play clothing, sleepwear and the like). Draco sat in a chair near the platform Harry was standing on, and he and Harry locked eyes in the mirror. Harry huffed out a breath as if to say “HELP!” and Draco rolled his eyes saying, “sorry, cousin,” and a little bit, “I told you so.” 

Mr. Twilfitt called Mr. Tatting to assist him as he held up fabric after fabric in a plethora of colors next to Harry. Narcissa would nod or shake her head to approve or reject items, occasionally stepping forward to touch a fabric, or suggest a color modification. It went on for what felt like hours to the two youngsters, but was really only a little over an hour, before Narcissa was satisfied he would have everything he needed (and as Lucius and Severus had indicated the previous evening, likely some he didn’t need as well). As Harry was stepping off the platform, Narcissa brought up the topic Harry was most interested in.

“Mr. Twilfitt, Mr. Tatting, while we are here, I was wondering if I might beg for a moment of your time to discuss a proposition?” Narcissa led into the conversation.

The two tailors nodded. “Please, speak freely, my dear Lady Malfoy,” Mr. Tatting responded.

“Well, you see,” she started hesitantly, though Harry and Draco could both tell she was anything but, “my dear cousin Rigel here has expressed an interest in making clothes. His tutor is unable to teach such arts, and my very first thought was that you two are so skilled and your clothing the first stare, he couldn’t possibly get better teachers than you!” she finished with a tinkling laugh.

“I see,” said Mr. Twilfitt. Mr. Tatting nodded.

“And since you two are so skilled, my dear Lucius and I were wondering if we could impose upon you to take my dear little Rigel under your skilled wings for a small apprenticeship this school year. He is not completely unskilled, Rigel, darling, come and tell them,” Narcissa pulled Harry into the conversation.

“Oh, yes, I mean, I’m not terribly good, but I did mend my clothing when it was needed,” Harry offered. Narcissa nodded, and made a little ‘go on’ gesture.

“I don’t know if it matters, but the things I worked on tended to last longer than the things I didn’t…” Harry trailed off uncertainly. Narcissa gave him an approving smile and a quick wink.

“Lasted longer, you say,” Mr. Tatting said, scratching his chin. 

“Interesting…” Mr. Twilfitt said, staring at Harry, who blushed a bit, and ducked his head.

“We will think on your proposal, Lady Malfoy, to apprentice your young cousin,” Mr. Twilfitt stated.

“And we’ll get back to you in a few days,” Mr. Tatting finished.

“That would be simply marvelous,” Narcissa said gaily as she turned to go. “Oh, silly me, when should we return for Rigel’s things?” she asked, spinning back towards the men gracefully, her outer robe fluttering gently.

“We can provide his underclothes, sleepwear, and a partial selection of his casual wear by 4 pm this afternoon,” Mr. Twilfitt started. 

“The remainder of his casual clothing and all of the formal clothing we will send via owl by the end of next week,” Mr. Tatting concluded.

“That sounds delightful, gentlemen, we’ll see you after 4 pm,” Narcissa said, gently ushering the boys out of the shop.

“There now, that wasn’t so bad,” Narcissa said once they were clear of the door. “And you’ll have your own new clothing this afternoon, dear,” she said with a fond smile at Harry. He nodded while Narcissa’s eyes were on him, and shared a commiserating sigh with Draco, when she turned to lead them to the next stop.

“Well, we should get all the required things done first, and then this afternoon we can do fun things, like toys, the menagerie, and brooms,” Narcissa decided. 

And with that, she steered them off towards Slug and Jiggers apothecary for their potions kits. That stop was a brief one. As soon as she mentioned personal students of Severus Prince, the shopkeeper had stepped out from behind his counter, and bustled away coming back with two pewter cauldrons (“Size Two, you know”) filled with a stirrer and ladle set which included stirring rods of Pewter, Silver, Gold, and glass, and a steel ladle. Two silver wrapped boxes were floating along behind the cauldrons. He noticed the boys eyeing them curiously and said, “Ingredients, personally selected by Potions Master Prince.” The boys nodded. Narcissa paid for their purchases and they were on their way.

They made their way quickly through a number of shops - Brown’s Cosmetics, Scribbulus, Tomes and Scrolls, Wiseacres Wizarding Equipment, Flourish and Blotts, and an eye healer, where Harry got a prescription for a potion which would heal his eyes for Severus to make. They stopped for lunch at a small, out of the way tea shop on an alley just off of Diagon, before making their way to the pet shops, toy shop, and Quality Quidditch Supplies in the afternoon.

Their foray into the Magical Menagerie was far more entertaining to the boys than their previous stops had been. They enjoyed meandering through the shop, pointing out this owl, or that kneazle. It offered Draco a chance to hold whispered conversations with “Rigel” about the various magical creatures they were looking at. Harry wanted to speak to the snakes, but when they approached the tanks, he could hear them chattering amongst themselves about the mice they were fed, the rocks they were coiled on, and the poor temperatures in the tanks. Not finding that very interesting or stimulating, they merely looked for a few moments and continued on. Neither found an animal of particular interest, and so they left without making a purchase.

Next was Eeylops Owl Emporium next door. This shop was very interesting to Harry, never having seen an owl before in anything other than pictures, and knowing they were a nocturnal creature, was surprised to see them all awake. Narcissa explained that they were magical owls, intended to form a relationship or slight bond to their owner and deliver mail for them. As they did often create a very minor form of the familiar bond spontaneously, they were prized as mail carriers for being able to follow that bond and get through wards to deliver their owner’s mail anywhere. Draco had been gifted a sooty black great horned owl (his name was Nox) on his 7th birthday, and so they purchased some owl treats for him. Harry had hoped to find a pet or an owl in the two shops, but nothing sparked his fancy and so he left empty handed.

At the toy story, Harry wandered around in awe. He had never been to a muggle toy story, and so the wizarding version was astounding. Of course it had things he had expected to see, stuffed animals, dolls, and figures, though many were enchanted to move or sing or dance. But it also included things he had never seen before, like reusable hangman, wizard’s chess, and fanged frisbees. The Malfoys let Harry wander to his heart’s content, stopping and inspecting anything that caught his eye. Narcissa had picked up a charmed basket and whenever Harry spent a longer time looking at something, it discreetly made its way into the basket floating along behind her. 

When they were finished, Draco had found some new figures he wanted to add to his collection (mostly quidditch players), and Harry was the proud owner of his own set of gobstones, exploding snap cards, a beginners wizarding chess set, a reusable hangman, a bubble and light wand, and three stuffed animals - a stag, a grim, and a wolf. He wasn’t sure why he was drawn to those three in particular, but they were soft and cuddly, and for a boy who had never experienced such things, that he could remember, it was too pleasant to pass up. He was extremely grateful to the Malfoys for purchasing all these things for him, and thanked Narcissa profusely once they had exited the story. Seeing his somewhat disgruntled expression when she went to shrink their bags, she instead handed over the bag containing his plushes, and was rewarded with a pleased smile as he held the bag and surreptitiously stroked the animals inside.

But their last stop before returning to Twilfitt and Tatting's and heading home was the most exciting to the two boys. Draco had grabbed Harry’s hand and nearly pulled his arm out of socket as he tugged and pulled the smaller boy towards the shop at a dead run. Narcissa calmly called him back to order, and rescued “poor Rigel” with a pat on his head, and a firm grasp of his hand. They then made their way, in a slightly more dignified fashion, into the shop.

Quality Quidditch Supplies! This was the store they had been waiting for all day! Draco was telling his dear cousin Rigel all about the rules of the game, the players, and the balls. They drooled over the replica uniforms for Draco’s favorite teams (the Falmouth Falcons and Puddlemere United), laughed at the ones Draco said were the worst (That disaster in orange of the Chudley Cannons, haven’t won the league in nearly a hundred years!), and ogled the sets of balls, gloves, and other equipment presented in the store. 

But the back wall was where they were truly headed. The brooms. All the shiny new brooms! Harry could only look at the names with confusion and awe… Comet 360, Shooting Star, CleanSweep, Silver Arrow, and a Nimbus 1700. Harry and Draco both nearly lost their composure at the Nimbus. So sleek, twigs so perfectly in order and shaped for aerodynamic precision. Draco’s practice Comet 360 could never measure up. Though they knew Harry would likely also wind up with Comet, they couldn’t help looking over, touching, and discussing the Nimbus while they were selecting their other items. While they boys were lost to their shopping, Narcissa crooked a finger to call a store clerk to assist her. She made her surprise purchase, and requested it be owled to her at Malfoy Manor that evening before the boys noticed she wasn’t following them.

Again, Narcissa took a charmed basket to follow them as they made their final selections. Harry had decided on a practice snitch because it just looked so fun. Draco had gotten a new set of chaser’s gloves. They both selected a set of quidditch robes and protective gear, a pleasant medium blue with grey pads and helmet for Draco, and a set in emerald green and grey for Harry. Narcissa instructed them to select an official set of balls with which to practice, and they found a very nice set in a wood chest which included the quaffle, snitch, and two bludgers, as well as the 2 beater bats. 

They were stepping up to the counter to pay when Draco suddenly exclaimed, “Mother, we forgot Rigel’s broom!”

“I haven’t forgotten his broom, Draco, I purchased it while you were looking around and had it owled home. I had no wish to carry a broom when they cannot be shrunk,” Narcissa responded somewhat quellingly.

“Oh,” Draco deflated.

“Thank you, Cousin Cissa,” Harry said respectfully.

“It is no problem at all, Rigel,” Narcissa returned with a smile.

They completed their purchases, and made their way back to Twilfitt and Tatting's to pick up part of Harry’s new wardrobe. Once their last stop was complete, they headed home.

\----------

###  _ Same Day, Gringotts _

While his lovely wife was taking his son and their new ward, Harry Potter, shopping, Lucius took advantage of his friendly status with the goblins, and his account manager in particular, to place a floo call to Gornuk requesting a meeting. The meeting was granted, and Lucius stepped through the fire and into his account manager’s office.

“To what do I owe this visit, Lord Malfoy?” Gornuk asked once Lucius was seated.

“May your gold ever grow, Gornuk. I have come with good news,” Lucius responded.

“And your enemies suffer, Lord Malfoy. Tell me what has occured,” Gornuk prompted his client.

“Lord Prince and I were successful in retrieving the young Potter Heir on Monday,” Lucius began.

“You were!?!” Gornuk interrupted, all propriety forgotten.

Lucius’s eye lit with a nearly unholy gleam of satisfaction. “Indeed we did, my friend.”

Without speaking, or asking permission, Gornuk pressed the clear cube on his desk, and barked out rapid-fire Gobbledegook.

In very short order, his office door slammed open, and Griphook, the Potter Account Manager goblin, had rushed into the office, nearly forgetting to close the door in his haste.

“You have him?” Griphook questioned the moment he could breathe.

“I have,” Lucius responded smugly.

“I was not certain the plan would work,” Griphook continued. “Children are so often taught to be wary of strangers, I had not truly hoped he would come with you. You did retrieve him  _ willingly _ I trust?” he finished a little subdued.

“Of course, Griphook. We would not have taken him otherwise,” Lucius stated. “Indeed, he seemed very willing to accompany us, even falling asleep in Severus’ arms prior to our departure. The transfer of magic to the doll was rather taxing on him. If he had not been controlling his accidental magic for so long, I am not certain he would have managed the power needed so successfully.”

“Controlling his accidental magic, you say?” Gornuk asked curiously.

“Oh yes,” Lucius replied, that gleam of satisfaction growing even brighter. “It seems he’s been unconsciously and consciously controlling his magic since he was three. He mentioned being able to turn on a light no one else could turn on at the age of three at least. We’ll have to wait for his inheritance test to see if we will have grounds for a full magical scan and diagnostic to see if we can pinpoint when it started.”

“I’m certain there will be plenty of grounds for a full scan, Lord Malfoy,” Griphook responded, returning to decorum. “I appreciate you bringing this news. Do you wish to perform the ritual to bring the keys for young Heir Potter’s vaults back into service?”

“I’m unsure, my friends,” Lucius replied. “I certainly don’t want to prevent him from accessing them, but as he’s not yet 10 and can’t perform the full inheritance test, he wouldn’t be able to access them anyway. Conversely, if we reactivate the keys, his magical guardian would then be able to use them, and who knows what he would do to them, not to mention knowing that somehow Harry was in the magical world when he’s supposed to know nothing about it.”

“I agree with your assessment, Lord Malfoy,” Gornuk put in. “It could be dangerous to the young heir if anyone were to find out he is back in our world too soon.”

“It can of course be hidden once he is 10 and will have the Heir power to prevent the key from activating, but until then, it is probably best to leave things as they are,” Griphook concluded. “I am certain we will be having meetings with you regularly. We will be able to meet Heir Potter and discuss his options then.”

They ended their meeting and Lucius floo’ed home, and returned to his office and work to wait for his family to return.


	11. Chapter 10 - Brother Bonds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Previously: Shopping, and a meeting at Gringotts
> 
> In this chapter: Brooms, letters from tutors, a little bit A/B/O, and a brother bonding

###  _ Thursday, August 18, 1988 _

Harry and Draco spent a significant amount of time together after their shopping trip and during the week and a half before their lessons started. Much of that time was spent playing out of doors, under the watchful eye of Narcissa or Tansy and Dobby.

Nearly the first thing the boys had done was gather their quidditch things and make straight for the pitch. Narcissa had supervised their first session. As they had come home from shopping and made their way straight into dinner, Harry and Draco had not had a chance to pester Narcissa for Harry’s new broom. Since it came via owl after they had been dismissed to their rooms for the night, they never realized she had in fact purchased more than just a broom for Harry.

Therefore, when their first opportunity to fly came on Thursday after breakfast, they jumped at the chance. Narcissa dismissed them from the breakfast table to gather their things, and made her way to the family quidditch pitch. She called for Tansy and Dobby to bring her Draco and Harry’s brooms. The boys arrived while she was instructing the elves, and so were there waiting when two identical boxes popped into being on the ground in front of them.

The boys looked at Narcissa with wide eyes and she nodded and gestured for them to open the packages.

Draco tore into his first, squealing when it revealed the box for the Nimbus 1700. Harry had watched his friend while slowly opening the wrapping on his own box. He was nearly overcome with tears when he saw that his package was also a Nimbus 1700. No one had ever bought him anything so nice before. He jumped up and ran to Narcissa, grasping around her waist tightly and he murmured a litany of thank you’s into her robes. She wrapped her arms around him gently, knowing he was touch-starved, and hugged him back while rubbing his back and pressing the occasional kiss to his forehead while he slowly calmed down.

Once Harry was calm, Draco dashed over to his mother and had his turn at hugs and joyous thank you’s. Both excited, and ready to be flying, they ripped open the boxes, and grabbed their brooms, jumping on, and soaring into the sky.

After a long morning of flying, and a quick, but yummy lunch, the boys retreated to their new playroom which Lucius had organized while they were flying. It connected magically to both boys’ rooms and all their toys and playthings had been moved there. When Lucius led them to the main household entrance and opened the door, the boys entered, shocked. Draco’s Hogwarts model had been set up on a table enchanted to look like the grounds, one corner had a pile of pillows and blankets with all their plush toys. All the other games and toys were slotted into shelves and drawers in scatter cabinets throughout the room. 

The glory of the room was the art. Each wall had a different mural, and the ceiling had been enchanted with the same spell as Draco’s room (which Harry had also requested the day after his arrival for his own room) and so the stars shone down on them from above. The long back wall had a mural of a quidditch pitch with Puddlemere United playing the Falmouth Falcons. Each time the snitch was caught, the game would reset. An updating scoreboard was set to record both the score of the current game, and the game win/loss record for the month. The current tally showed the Falmouth Falcons had won the first game, but Puddlemere was winning the current game. The wall to the right was a dragon preserve scene, similar to the one in Draco’s room and with a door leading to that very place, but with different species of dragons. The left wall showed a forest with an abundance of wildlife and included the door to Harry’s room. Lucius had elected to include a stag, grim, and wolf having seen Harry’s plushies. Also knowing Peter Pettigrew, he knew what those animals represented to Harry, even if Harry didn’t know yet, and had made them more prominent than the other animals. The long wall with the main entrance door showed a number of rooms in the manor along with painted occupants entering and exiting, or using the items painted within them. The room shown changed once every two hours and cycled between the kitchen, library, potions lab, sitting room, sun room, and dueling room. It was charmed to restart the cycle at midnight in a different room than the previous day so going into the playroom at the same time every day wouldn’t show the same room. It was currently showing the library and Harry’s mouth dropped open in awe, not having seen the library yet. Lucius slipped out of the room while they were distracted, intent on showing Narcissa their reaction in his pensieve.

After watching the murals for several minutes, both boys made their way to the blanket-and-pillows corner. Narcissa had charmed Harry’s blanket to return to Harry’s bed when he wasn’t holding it, but Lucius had modified the charm to move the blanket to the soft corner when Harry was in it. As Harry sat, the blanket appeared in his lap and he immediately grabbed the corner with his initials and the lily on it to rub his thumb over the embroidery. Draco had a similar blanket appear in his lap, but it was navy blue with the constellation Draco embroidered in one corner. They each grabbed a plush (his dragon for Draco and the grim for Harry) and snuggled up with their blankets and a pillow for a nap. 

\----------

###  _ Friday, August 19, 1988 _

“Narcissa, dear,” Lucius said as his wife joined him in his office. “Mr. Morgan has sent his letter with Harry’s educational plan.”

“Oh, and how did he do?” Narcissa asked

“I will read it,” Lucius said.

_ Dear Lord and Lady Malfoy, _

_ I am writing today with the results of Heir Potter’s assessments and to suggest a plan for his continued education. I must admit his results are rather astounding. I provided review questions for traditional muggle school through the 5th year, even with his not having started 4th, and he completed nearly all of it flawlessly. He made a few errors, which honestly seem more like the regular slips of memory in a child than any ignorance of the topic presented. Please see his specific results on the enclosed additional parchment with scores converted to the standard wixen rubric.  _

_ As previously discussed, he was not tested on any House or Family knowledge due to his muggle upbringing. His etiquette was astounding for a muggle raised child; I think we will have no difficulty polishing his manners and working with him to apply them in the appropriate setting. He should be ready to attend etiquette with Heir Malfoy, as the review won’t hurt, and then they will be able to practice together. His other classes with Heir Malfoy will be Astronomy, French, Latin, and Politics. In fact, with Latin, I suspect he will be further along than Heir Malfoy, and may be able to assist in Heir Malfoy’s progress. I suspect the reverse will be true for French.  _

_ My suggestion for his educational plan this year is as follows: _

  * _Apprenticeship: Twilfitt and Tatting's (if they accept)_


  * Etiquette: General polishing, instruction on situational application


  * Family History: Malfoy family, general and up through 7 generations


  * House History: General overview, and current members of ranked houses


  * Languages: Latin, French, Italian


  * Wizarding Traditions: Education, Financial System, and Politics



_ Please let me know if this is acceptable so I may begin preparations as soon as possible. We will begin as usual on September 1st. I am pleased with Heir Potter’s work so far, and am looking forward to assisting in his education. _

_ Blessed Be, _

_ Perseus Morgan _

Lucius handed the second sheet over to Narcissa as he had looked over Harry’s scores earlier.

_ Heir Potter’s Educational Review _

_ Muggle Studies _

_ English _

  * _1st year: O_


  * 2nd year: O


  * 3rd year: O


  * 4th year: O


  * 5th year: O



_ Spelling _

  * _1st year: O_


  * 2nd year: O


  * 3rd year: O


  * 4th year: O


  * 5th year: O



_ Reading Comprehension _

  * _1st year: O_


  * 2nd year: O


  * 3rd year: O


  * 4th year: O


  * 5th year: EE



_ Mathematics _

  * _1st year: O_


  * 2nd year: O


  * 3rd year: O


  * 4th year: EE


  * 5th year: A



_ British History _

  * _1st year: O_


  * 2nd year: O


  * 3rd year: O


  * 4th year: EE


  * 5th year: A



_ Science _

  * _1st year: O_


  * 2nd year: O


  * 3rd year: O


  * 4th year: EE


  * 5th year: A



_ World Geography _

  * _5th year: EE_



_ Wixen Studies _

_ Astronomy: A _

_ Etiquette: EE _

_ French: A _

_ German: P _

_ Italian: A _

_ Latin: O _

_ Penmanship: O _

_ Spanish: A _

“Those scores are marvelous!” Narcissa exclaimed after taking them all in.

Lucius nodded. “In addition to this wonderful news, we also received a letter from Misters Twilfitt and Tatting,” he continued.

_ Dear Lord and Lady Malfoy, _

_ Pursuant to our conversation with Lady Malfoy on Tuesday, and your own letter of consent, Lord Malfoy, Thomas and I have agreed to accept Mister Rigel Black as our apprentice. We will require a binding magical contract stipulating the requirements of both parties as well as ensuring Mr. Black’s silence regarding our techniques should he exit our service early. If you have any requests for the contract, we are willing to discuss options. If you are agreeable, we will set an appointment at Gringotts for Monday, August 29th at 10:00 am. If the time is not convenient, please select a time and we will do our best to be available for you. _

_ Blessed Be, _

_ Timothy Twilfitt _

_ Thomas Tatting _

“Oh, that’s wonderful. I was so hopeful they would take him,” said Narcissa. “I may have...nudged our dear Heir Potter to tell them about his sewing experience.”

“And of course you are not at fault if they took it to mean he was likely a threadwizard,” Lucius finished with a smirk. 

“I would never imply such a thing,” Narcissa said with a delighted laugh. 

Her husband chuckled as he moved back to his desk to respond to both letters, “Of course not, my dear.” 

\----------

###  _ Week of August 22, 1988 _

Over the course of the week, Draco and Harry’s relationship grew. Their time spent flying kept them active, and their time spent in the playroom deepened their friendship and trust. As such, Draco worked up the courage, while they were snuggled in the soft cozy corner of their playroom, to discuss something with Harry which had been bothering him for some time.

“Harry?” Draco asked in a rather subdued tone.

“Yes?” Harry responded with a smile.

“I’m worried.” Draco stated bluntly.

“Worried about what? What’s wrong, Draco?” Harry scooted over closer to his friend.

“I think I’m going to present as an omega,” he whispered.

“An omega? What does that matter?” Harry asked.

“Do you remember mother, father, and uncle Severus telling you about how their relationship works?” Draco questioned. 

Harry nodded, “Your mum and dad aren’t really suited because he’s an alpha and she’s a beta. She and Severus are together, and they’re both betas. Your dad hasn’t found his omega yet or something like that, I’m not exactly sure, I was pretty tired then.”

“That’s good enough for now,” Draco replied. “Alphas are supposed to be with omegas and betas are supposed to be with other betas, though they can be with anyone if necessary. It’s just…” Draco trailed off.

“You can tell me, I won’t be mad or anything, you know,” Harry promised.

“I know…” Draco stopped to collect his thoughts. “Father has been teaching me the family business. And I love it, really I do! But I like spending time with Mother, and shopping, and baths, and my stuffed animals,” Draco got out a bit choppily. He heaved a breath and continued, “I like quidditch and business, and playing outside and other things like that too, but I  _ really _ like being at home.”

“I don’t understand why you think that’s a problem, Draco,” Harry said with a confused frown.

“Omegas aren’t supposed to work,” he managed to choke out. “What if Father decides not to pass on the family business to me? What if he gives it to someone else if I am an omega? What if he doesn’t love me anymore because he’s an alpha and was supposed to produce a strong heir?” He was becoming distraught.

“Draco!” Harry almost shouted, breaking Draco’s now incoherent babbling. “He’s your father, and he loves you. I’ve seen you two together. He likes showing you the business and having you with him. He doesn’t mind when you spend time with your mother or play with plushies. He comes and plays  _ with _ us sometimes!”

“But,” Draco started to almost whine, “none of my friends like shopping with their mothers or playing with plushies. I don’t like clothes shopping with my mother,” both boys exchanged a grimace at that thought, “but everything else is fine,” Draco stated. “And Blaise and Theo take showers, and don’t want the house elves to help them get ready, and tease me about my dragon and my blanket.”

“Well, if you’re going to be an omega, I’m going to be one too,” Harry stated confidently.

“You can’t just  _ decide _ to become an omega, Harry,” Draco interjected.

“I know that,” Harry said. “But I like all those things, too. I’d rather have a bath and relax, and shopping is fine, and even fun for some things. And I have more stuffed animals than you. Come on, Draco, I’m going to be apprenticing to sew!” Harry exclaimed. “That’s way more girly than you going into business!” 

“I know, I just get so scared sometimes,” Draco confided. “I mean,  _ now _ it’s ok for omegas to work outside the home, but it’s really new, and some of the old people don’t like it.”

“Draco Malfoy,” Harry started, “Your father loves you, and I’m sure he’s going to pass you the family business whether you are an omega or not!”

“Thanks, Harry,” Draco said with a wobbly smile.

“Any time,” Harry responded, pushing up from the blankets to grab Draco for a hug.

Draco hugged him back, and with a small sniff said, “Will you be my brother?”

Harry pulled back abruptly. “Be your brother?” he asked, tilting his head in confusion.

“Yeah, like, do the brother bonding ritual with me.” Draco said as sort of a question.

“There’s a brother bonding ritual?” Harry asked.

“Of course!” Draco replied. He grabbed Harry’s hand and pulled him up, grabbing both their blankets. He handed Harry his, and pulled him from the playroom saying, “Come on, we’re going to the library.”

Draco knew about sibling bonds because his father and Severus had done one when he was a baby and had told him about it a few years ago. He couldn’t remember exactly what had to be done, but he knew it was a bond that could be done anywhere, and didn’t require the goblins like most rituals. He wanted his friend to be his brother and for them to protect each other and love each other forever. He thought this was an excellent way to have what he wanted. He pulled Harry towards the section of the library on bonds and started searching for the book he knew it was in. 

“Aha! Found it!” he exclaimed, dropping Harry’s hand at last to pull the book off the shelf. 

“Common Bonding Rituals,” Harry read off the spine of the book. Draco headed over to one of the tables and opened the book, focused on finding the correct page for the Magical Sibling ritual. His finger ran down the table of contents and when he found the page, flipped to it quickly. He started reading silently while Harry was trying to decipher the text upside down.

“Okay,” Draco began after reading the entire section. “It’s pretty simple. We have to link our pinkies and recite our brother vows, and then cut our palms and shake hands while we say ‘Frater Meus Esse Mecum,” three times, once just me, once just you, and once together. We don’t even have to use a ritual circle or anything like that if we don’t want to.”

“You’re telling me we have to  _ PINKIE PROMISE  _ we’re going to be brothers!?!” Harry exclaimed, shocked that something so muggle was present in a wizarding ritual.

“Pinkie promise?” Draco asked, confused.

“The whole linking pinkies and swearing we’re going to be brothers?” Harry gestured randomly with his hands, unsure how to explain any better.

“Yeah, I guess so,” Draco shrugged. “Well, we can’t do it alone… Mother and Father would kill both of us if we took one of the ritual knives to use without supervision.”

“Draco, I know how to cook. I haven’t cut myself with a knife since I was five,” Harry said with a scoff.

“Doesn’t matter, they’ll be mad,” Draco said.

“Whatever,” Harry said. 

“We’ll ask them at dinner,” Draco decided with an emphatic nod.

“Okay,” Harry agreed. He was getting excited at the thought of having a real, actual family!

Later, when they arrived at dinner, they found Severus was joining them as he would be headed back to school on the 29th to prepare for the students. Once they were seated and eating, Draco began the conversation rather abruptly.

“Father?” Draco asked.

“Yes, son,” Lucius replied, looking up from his meal.

“Harry and I would like to brother bond,” he stated calmly.

Lucius’ eyebrow rose at his son’s statement. He exchanged a look with Narcissa and Severus, receiving nearly imperceptible nods from both.

“I see,” he commented neutrally.

“We got the book from the library, and we can do it here,” Draco continued, wanting to get their agreement so he could have a brother soon.

“It’s just a pinkie promise,” Harry mumbled quietly. Not quietly enough though as Severus heard him and chuckled.

“It does seem like a pinkie promise, doesn’t it?” he asked, smiling at Harry.

“Why is there a pinkie promise in a wizarding ritual?” Harry asked him plaintively.

“The pinkie promise came from wizards first, Harry,” Severus answered. “Before the Statute of Secrecy, muggles saw many things wixen did, and pinkie promising was something easy enough a muggle could do.”

“Oh,” Harry said, finally understanding.

Lucius and Narcissa had watched the exchange somewhat confused. As they were both of wixen lines and had little to no contact with muggles, the concept of a pinkie promise was entirely new to them, having only been exposed to the wixen usage previously.

“Well, I’m glad somebody knew what he meant,” Draco put in. “He was talking about a pinkie promise in the library and I didn’t have any idea what he was talking about. So can we?”

“May we,” Narcissa corrected.

“May we, father?” Draco asked again.

“Harry, you are willing?” Lucius checked with the newest member of his household. “You won’t be true blood related siblings, so Narcissa and I won’t be your blood or adoptive parents, but you and Draco will share a magical brother bond, and depending on the strength of that bond, may possibly be able to tap into each other’s power, or develop some telepathic communication, or location sensing abilities. There really is no way to know what may develop beforehand.”

“I am,” Harry responded confidently. “I always wanted a friend, and Dudley never treated me like family. Seems like this gets me both,” He finished with a shrug. “It feels...right.”

“Narcissa, Severus?” Lucius continued.

The both nodded.

“Very well then,” Lucius stated, “we’ll go to the ritual room after dinner.”

Once dinner was over, they made their way to the ritual room. A simple ritual circle was inlaid on the floor in witch hazel, similar to the ritual rooms at Gringotts. Narcissa burned cedar and white sage for cleansing and protection before they began. Severus set up four black candles for protection at the cardinal points. Lucius handed each boy two tumbling stones, one amethyst for protection and cleansing, and one apatite for love and acceptance, instructing them to hold them in their non-dominant hand. None of this was  _ required  _ for the brother bond, but they wanted their boys to have the best bond possible. Lucius summoned a silver ritual knife and instructed them to begin.

The boys linked pinkies and said their brotherhood vow. Draco went first as he was older, and Harry followed. 

“My brother, to be with me through all the joys and sorrows of my life. My brother, to guide and protect me, love and accept me. My brother, in family, and in magic. So mote it be.”

Once they had both recited their vow, Lucius handed the knife to Draco. He cut his palm carefully, sucking in air on a quiet wince, and then handed the knife to Harry. Harry did the same, but barely felt the sting of the blade as he had far worse from the Dursleys. He handed the knife back to Lucius. Draco and Harry clasped their cut hands together and said “Frater Meus Esse Mecum,” three times - once just Draco, once just Harry, and once together. There was a faint flash of orange light as they completed the final repetition, sealing the bond and ending the ritual. Draco and Harry were now brothers in Magic.

##  _ Chapter 10 Notes _

Frater Meus Esse Mecum: (Latin) My brother to be with me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Frater Meus Esse Mecum: (Latin) My brother to be with me


	12. Chapter 11 - Practicing Bonds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Previously: Brooms, letters from tutors, a little bit A/B/O, and a brother bonding
> 
> In this chapter: More explanation of A/B/O, thread magic, and a Coming Out Party

###  _ Summer 1989 _

Narcissa pulled her boys from the dining room after breakfast one day during the summer. The weather was poor, thunderstorms were buffeting Wiltshire, and they had been stuck inside for several days. To help stave off the accompanying boredom, she intended to take the day to discuss secondary genders with her children so they would know what to expect in the future. The information was also important for their political skills as they would need to know how to deal with all secondary genders in politics. Since they were both Heirs to Houses with seats on the Wizengamot, politics were in their future, and therefore the earlier they had this knowledge, the better they could use it.

They had gone to a rarely used parlour in an out of the way part of the manor. Lucius was going to his office at the Ministry and Severus had left on a potion ingredient gathering trip two days previously and would not return for several more days so they were ensured privacy. Narcissa was pleased with that turn of events as she knew Draco had a hard time relaxing his hold on etiquette when his father was present. She hoped the coming discussion would help allay some of his fears.

“Now boys,” Narcissa began after they were seated with tea, “I know you are at least passing familiar with the topic of secondary genders. We’ve discussed several times now that Lucius is an alpha and Severus and I are betas. Today I want us to talk more frankly about secondary gender, what things to be looking for to help you identify your secondary gender quickly, and what to expect from each of the three secondary genders. You may ask whatever questions you have, and I will give you all the information I can.”

The two boys nodded, a faint blush gracing both of their cheeks.

Narcissa noticed their embarrassment and continued, “I know you likely feel a bit uncomfortable about it, but think of it this way, I’m a beta, and your mother. I won’t be offended if you ask a question or are “too” blunt for propriety the way an alpha or a stranger might. And, you are both particularly comfortable with me, so you should have no qualms speaking up if you don’t understand something or want more details or explanations.”

“Oh, can you imagine trying to have this conversation with your father,” Harry said under his breath towards Draco.

“Ugh, or Uncle Sev?” Draco replied quietly.

Narcissa heard their mumbled asides and laughed lightly. “Exactly,” she said, smiling at them gently.

The two giggled, knowing she heard them, and felt much better about the upcoming discussion.

“Now, you know the three secondary genders, that alphas and omegas prefer to be together, and that betas can be with any of the genders. But do you know who can present as what type or anything about the presentation itself?

Draco spoke, “Only men can present as alphas, but betas and omegas can be men or women.”

“I think people begin presenting at age thirteen,” Harry said.

“Those are both correct,” Narcissa nodded. “At age thirteen, a child who is going to present as an alpha or omega will begin the presentation process, while betas undergo puberty. This is similar to muggle puberty, which often begins somewhere between the ages of twelve to fourteen. Betas may therefore know their secondary gender prior to age thirteen. An alpha or omega will not know their secondary gender  _ for sure _ until some time after their thirteenth birthday, as their changes will begin to manifest, but may take up to six months to be noticeable. 

“Mother, you said ‘for sure.’ Does that mean there are ways to guess your secondary gender early?” Draco questioned eagerly. He was anxious to know with more certainty what his secondary gender would be.

“Indeed there are,” Narcissa replied. “As alphas can be loosely equated to Male and omegas to Female, things like body size, strength, and general appearance can be good predictors. A larger or physically stronger child may be broadcasting their body’s preparation for presenting as an alpha while a smaller, more delicate child would be the opposite.”

“Is there anything else that might indicate one or the other, Cissa?” Harry asked.

“Nothing will give a 100% accurate prediction of secondary gender, these are merely indicators. Do not think that presence or absence of these indicators will tell you for sure what you will be. For example, the larger, stronger child might have reached their full size by age thirteen and at presentation, could stop growing, therefore presenting as an omega. Other than physical indicators, there are some personality indicators. These tend to be slightly more accurate in determining secondary gender, but not by much. Alphas tend to want to be out and about, doing things, being active, showing off their strengths as it were. Omegas tend to want to be at home, with family, learning, or focusing more on personal projects and development. Betas can be across the entire spectrum and so personality is a poor indicator for betas.”

The boys nodded.

“As for the presentation itself, “ Narcissa began, “during the time between age thirteen and age sixteen, both alphas and betas will experience an increase in magical power throughout the period. Their magic may be uncooperative for a short time when the increase first begins, but it will smooth out and gradually increase. Usually the coursework at Hogwarts is difficult enough to keep the extra power in use or grounded, but if you were to notice your magic acting up, additional brief but intense practice sessions of about 15 minutes a few times a day will channel the excess. This power increase is typically at a faster rate and ends at a higher point for omegas than alphas, but we’ll talk about typical power levels in a moment. Alphas will have several growth spurts, will develop larger and more defined muscles, and experience an increase in their physical strength. Omegas will either slow rapidly in their growth, or stop growing altogether. Their physical features will soften, often making females more conventionally attractive, and making males much more androgynous looking. An omega’s hair will grow, sometimes dramatically, and their hips widen in preparation for childbearing. The clearest and easiest indicator for an omega is that most or all body hair will fall out. This can happen during puberty depending on hormone fluctuations, and due to several wizarding illnesses, so it is still not perfect.”

“I don’t think either of us have questions on presentation,” Draco started, and Harry hummed in agreement, “it seems pretty straight forward, but I want to know more about those power levels you mentioned.”

“Of course,” Narcissa replied. “The power levels we’re about to discuss apply to everyone, not just alphas or omegas. Power levels will be measured on each of your inheritance tests when you take them at Gringotts every year. This number may shift over time, but will settle on your overall power level sometime after your seventeenth birthday and final core maturation. Your magical core will be fully developed and will stop growing on your seventeenth birthday, but sometimes a witch or wizard isn’t in full control immediately on their seventeenth birthday and so the final reading is usually recorded as the 18th birthday. Is that clear so far?”

The boys nodded their heads.

“Good,” Narcissa nodded with a smile. “Muggles have no magical power. A muggle going through an inheritance test at Gringotts would show zero. This is common when a child comes in unknowing that their grandparents or great grandparents were squibs. Both parents can be tested, and so we have documented that muggles display zero for magical level. Squibs manifest between one and forty-nine in magical power. As squibs are a punishment from magic, they are cast out of their Family, typically to a village containing other squibs or squib descendants. Depending on how close the squib progeniture is to the family of the new magical child, they may or may not know they are a squib. Though squibs have magic, it is not enough to actively cast and with the prevalence of magic, even for things like shopkeepers and servers, they often leave the magical world entirely. Betas can manifest between fifty and one hundred ninety-nine. Power level is an atrocious measure for betas. The only time it’s accurate is if the power level is between fifty and ninety-nine. Alpha power levels are between one hundred and two hundred. But omegas are one hundred fifty or more. Omegas are always more magically powerful than their alphas. Sometimes not by much, but they always are.

Draco’s eyes had grown wide as soon as Narcissa had started explaining alphas and omegas. He was shocked with the new information.

“Omegas are really more magically powerful than alphas?!?” Draco squeaked

“Indeed they are, my dragon,” Narcissa responded indulgently, understanding her son’s concerns. 

“See, Draco, being an omega isn’t a bad thing,” Harry said elbowing his brother.

Draco started giggling, and Harry couldn’t stop himself from laughing with him. Narcissa let them for a few moments and then began speaking again.

“If that has resolved your concerns about power level…” Both boys nodded. “Moving on then!” Narcissa continued. “Secondary gender pairings. Typically alphas do not pair well together, nor do omegas, and I have not seen such a couple of either type in my lifetime. If an alpha or omega is incapable of locating a suitable partner in their opposite gender, they may choose to form a bond with a beta having the closest personality type to their need. For example, Lucius and I were paired because I desired children eventually, and Lucius was an alpha in need of an heir. Alphas and omegas are extremely fertile when paired together, betas have average or normal fertility when paired, but alphas or omegas paired to a beta have a much more difficult time. I myself required numerous potions to even conceive, and then even more to help me through the pregnancy itself.” 

“Wait,” Harry interjected. “Alphas can only be male, but omegas can be male or female, right?” Narcissa nodded. “So a male omega will likely wind up with a male alpha?” Narcissa nodded again. “But...but they’re both men!” Harry paused, thinking about it for a moment, “You said alphas and omegas are very fertile when they are together, how can they be fertile when they’re both men?” Harry was extremely confused.

“Ah, I understand your confusion,” Narcissa began to explain. “Men are capable of carrying children as long as they are an omega. There’s no issues with fertility or pregnancy for male omegas.”

“Oh,” Harry said in wonder. “So if I presented as an omega, I could still have my own kids?”

“Yes,” Narcissa confirmed.

“But only if the man is an omega?” Harry questioned. Narcissa nodded. “But what if two male betas wanted to be together? They can’t have kids? That’s not fair!” Harry was indignant.

“While a male beta cannot carry a child in pregnancy, there is a blood adoption ritual which can make a child a blood and magical child of the two men, or two women. Children can only be carried during pregnancy by omegas or female betas,” Narcissa completed the explanation.

“So they can have children, they just have to get them using the blood adoption ritual,” Draco confirmed.

“Yes,” Narcissa replied.

“Well, it’s better than nothing, I suppose,” Harry muttered.

“Yes it is,” said Narcissa. “Blood adoption is helpful for many couples, beta same-sex pairs, as well as betas paired with alphas or omegas who have difficulty conceiving. We were lucky enough to have Severus to help, not everyone is so lucky to have a potions master for a friend. The course of treatment I was on was exorbitantly expensive. Any other questions about pairings?

“I don’t think so,” said Draco, looking at Harry for confirmation. Harry shook his head.

“Very well then,” Narcissa continued their discussion. “I know you two are studying courtship and bonding this year and next with Mr. Morgan, so we won’t get into that today. But do you have any other questions or concerns?”

“I don’t have anything else,” said Harry.

“Me either,” Draco echoed.

“You may go then,” Narcissa dismissed them.

“Blessed be,” the boys said together as they left. She giggled as she heard Harry’s comments as they wandered down the hall.

“See, Draco, being an omega isn’t the end of the world. You would be more magically powerful and you could have kids!”

\----------

###  _ January 1990 _

Harry and Draco would be turning ten this year. Harry had been with the Malfoys for just over a year and half and was looking forward to the coming out party Draco would be having for his birthday. The Malfoys and Severus had very carefully explained his circumstances and the danger associated with him being recognized as Harry Potter when he first came with him, but they were able to explain so much more during the time he lived with them. So Harry was not upset at not having his own party for his 10th birthday. He had been masquerading as Mister Rigel Black nearly the entire time he had been with Malfoys, and was unconcerned at keeping it up for the party.

Lucius, Narcissa, and Severus had decided that they would throw Draco’s party between his birthday and Harry’s on June 23rd. Then they would tell people that “Rigel” was returning to France for his party so no one would be expecting a second party. People would likely still bring “Rigel” gifts for his birthday, but as they had told people his birthday was July 11th, it wouldn’t make much of a difference, nor would he be associated with Harry Potter in any way. 

Draco was more than happy to share his party with his brother, and made his feelings about Harry not getting a party at all very clear to his parents. Especially because Draco had realized during his talks with Harry about the past that Harry had never had his First Accidental Magic Party after he turned three and started displaying magic, nor the special party for his first core maturation at age seven. So what had started as  _ Draco’s Party _ became  _ The Boys’ Party _ . All their friends would be invited, as well as their families. Narcissa had already started planning, determined her boys would have the best Coming Out party of the year.

While all the party planning was occuring, Harry and Draco were continuing their wizarding studies with Mr. Morgan. Harry had progressed rapidly, far more so than anyone had anticipated. He had caught up to Draco’s work by the end of his first year, and so far this year, he’s been performing up to his usual near-perfect standards. He had been told about his Heir status for the Honorable and Most Noble House of Potter and what that meant for him, but he also participated in Draco’s Heir lessons for the Noble and Most Ancient House of Malfoy. Lucius was Lord to an Ancient house, and Severus was Lord to a Noble House, so they had people to ask if they had questions. Lucius had insisted on Draco and Harry both participating in the same lessons for their Heirships as he wanted them both prepared for any occurrence in the Wizengamot, meetings and social events with other Lords and Heirs, and any other situation that might arise for either of them.

Draco was performing just slightly lower than Harry, but was quite pleased Harry was helping him, as he was still concerned about possibly presenting as an omega at thirteen. He was working very hard to ensure that his skills were exemplary and that his father would have no reason to pass the family business to anyone other than himself. Continued discussion with Harry on the subject helped to soothe his nerves, but it was a common topic of conversation for them when they were alone. As the two shared many hobbies and enjoyment of the same entertainments, Harry was coming to believe that they would both be presenting as Omegas. 

\----------

###  _ Saturday, June 23, 1990 _

It was finally here! The day of the Coming Out Party! Draco was up at the crack of dawn, dashing in to Harry’s room across the hall and pouncing on the young man as he slowly woke up. 

Groggily Harry asked, “Wa’izit?”

Draco laughed when he heard Harry’s slurred speech. “It’s our party today!!!” he exclaimed loudly.

Harry sat straight up in bed, now fully awake. “It is!”

“The party starts at 2 pm, so Mother wanted us to be back up here to dress immediately after lunch at noon. We should go get breakfast and then go fly for an hour before she catches us and makes us go back to the play room for ‘non-strenuous play,’” he mimicked his mother perfectly and Harry started giggling, “‘so we don’t tire ourselves out before the party,’” he finished with his nose in the air.

“I just want to check on our robes,” Harry said, jumping out of bed and dashing to his closet. “I know I’ve been working on them since March, but I just want them to be perfect. And oh, if something was wrong when we went to dress and I didn’t have time to fix it…” his voice dropped to a whisper, “Cissa would call Mr. Twilfitt and Mr. Tatting to fix it and they’d be soooo disappointed…” He shook his head vigorously, praying all his work was still good.

He opened the garment bags to show Draco and they both just stood there, inspecting their clothes for a few minutes. No one had seen the robes except Harry, Draco, Mr. Twilfitt, and Mr. Tatting. But they were marvelous. He had created them as his project to advance to Journeyman in his apprenticeship, and his masters would be grading them today at the party. If Mr. Twilfitt and Mr. Tatting approved, he would be able to start making clothes for his own clients, and not just under the auspices of the Twilfitt and Tattings shop.

Harry first inspected Draco’s. He had a light grey pair of trousers made from acromantula silk. Harry had embroidered the hems, waist, and seams with tiny swirled waves imbued for cooling since the party was to be held outside and he didn’t want Draco to overheat. His shirt was a plain white button up in a cotton silk blend, extremely breathable, and also embroidered with Harry's swirling pattern on the cuffs, collar, and seams. Severus had given Draco a pair of silver cufflinks for his birthday, and so he had those to wear as well. His vest and bow tie were silver, picking out the silver in his eyes. The robe itself was an intense blue, Malfoy blue. Harry had worked the same swirling waves in sterling silver thread along the hem at the bottom, collar, and down both sides of the opening on the front. It had four sapphire buttons from neck to waist holding the robe closed. The most important thing about his robe, however, was that it was made from sea silk. A ridiculously expensive fabric, light and levitating, terrible to work with, but gorgeous when handled properly, and one miniscule mistake could ruin the entire project. Sea silk was said to be sentient to the tailor and wearer’s wishes, but would refuse to cooperate with any it deemed unworthy of its perfection. Whether those rumors were true or not was debatable, but these robes were Harry’s first creation in the fabric, and since they were being graded by his masters, he wanted them just perfect.

Once he was satisfied with Draco’s, he turned to his own. They were black, the deepest black he’d ever seen. His trousers and shirt were exactly the same as Draco’s, bar color. Harry’s were solid black. His vest and tie were silver as well. They selected the silver to have something match between them, and it was nice they shared silver in their family colors, Draco’s paired with blue for the Malfoys, and Harry’s with black for the Blacks. Severus had given Harry a matching set of cufflinks for his birthday, though it was early, and they matched Draco’s, so they would have that as well. But his robe. Oh, his robe. It was his masterpiece. It was sea silk as well, but the black was so dark it actually appeared to be sucking in light. He had worked nearly a month longer on his robe as instead of the swirls of his cooling pattern only on the edges of his robe, he had decided to make them larger, and cover the entire thing. The pattern was still understated as it was only one thread thick, but the swirls were larger, and oriented to draw eyes towards his face when worn. Where Draco wanted his robe a bit more “understated elegance,” Harry had decided he wanted a bit more attention. Therefore, he had edged his robe with skinny onyx beads to add a subtle shimmer, and worked tiny crystals into the swirls, a few towards the edges, but focusing and multiplying near the centers. His buttons were onyx with halos of clear crystal. His robe sparkled and shimmered, which was exactly what he wanted.

They both looked at each other and nodded their satisfaction with their clothing, and linked arms to run off to breakfast. They did manage to get in nearly two hours of flying before Narcissa called them in. They retreated to their playroom and did wind up taking naps in the cozy corner while the wall mural displayed the library, and the occupants of all the murals watched over them.

After lunch the boys went to clean up and get dressed for the party. It was nearly 2 pm when they emerged together from their rooms and headed down the main staircase side by side. Lucius, Narcissa, and Severus were waiting for them in the entrance hall, watching their descent. All three were somewhat shocked at their appearance, and though Harry was under glamour, both looked exceeding smug.

“Harry…” Narcissa breathed. Harry’s eyebrow lifted in a “please continue” arch he had picked up from Lucius.

“This is what you made for your project?” she managed.

“Yes,” he responded succinctly.

“They’re marvelous!” She finally exclaimed. “Brilliant. I don’t think I’ve ever seen such robes.”

Severus was nodding next to Narcissa. Lucius had activated his aura sight and was taking in the presence of the magic over their clothes in awe. They had discussed the possibility that he might be a threadwizard, but Harry was unwilling to say for certain as he knew they wouldn’t know for sure until he was seventeen. He was very much enjoying the work however, and so he secretly hoped he was.

“This is remarkable,” Lucius said after looking his fill. “I can see the aura on your clothes, it’s so strong and so bright. If I were a gambling man, Harry, I would put a large sum of money on you being a true threadwizard.”

Harry blushed ducking his head. He was getting used to compliments, but such fantastic praise for his skills would sometimes still embarrass him.

“Thank you,” he whispered shyly. 

The adults led the children to the Silver Sunroom which was next to the staired entrance to the Rose Garden. They were to wait there until their official Coming Out Presentation which would occur around 2:30. Harry and Draco clasped hands while they waited.

At 2:30 pm, Dobby and Tansy opened the doors from their sunroom to the stairs. The boys stood shoulder to shoulder as they stepped up to the top of the stairs and paused for a few moments, allowing the photographer to get their picture. They stepped down the stairs perfectly in sync, faintly pleased but still stoic expressions on their faces. They were both laughing internally as they heard the gasps and shocked comments about their clothes. Draco was proud of his friend and brother, and Harry was pleased his work appeared to be making a statement. Once they cleared the stairs they stepped over to the receiving line beginning to greet their guests and push them on towards the food.

There were a number of high profile figures because Lucius was so heavily involved in the Ministry, along with all their friends and their families. Harry’s masters were present as well. When they stepped up to congratulate him on his birthday, they took the opportunity to whisper that they would see him a bit later in the party after they had a moment to check Heir Malfoy’s clothes, when they would check his more intensely, and determine if he had passed his project. Harry nodded.

The boys spend their time split between Lucius and Narcissa and the political talks, and their friends, Blaise and Theo and their families. There were a few other children their age present, but it was mostly the children of political alliances or rivals who would cause talk if they were not present for such an event. As such, both Harry and Draco made the further acquaintance of several other children who would be in their class at school: Pansy Parkinson, Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle from the more traditional side, Hannah Abbot, and Neville Longbottom from the more modern side, and Susan Bones from the Neutrals.

The party passed quickly, and it was nearing 5 pm when he finally saw his masters beckon him from one of the smaller open tents Narcissa had scattered around the garden. They took a few moments, evaluating his clothes, inspecting fabrics, construction, seams, embroidery, and beading. They had been favorably impressed with young Heir Malfoy’s clothes, not having seen them completely finished, but these. These robes which Harry was wearing were magnificent. Amazing quality for one so young, and so new to training. There was no more illusion that Harry might not be a threadwizard. They could both clearly see the imbued magic in both sets of robes, stronger in Harry’s than Draco’s, but definitely there. His work was exquisite, and not just the thread magick itself, but his sewing skills. No wand, so all his work was hand done, and his stitching was so neat and precise. If they hadn’t known he was the creator of these fantastic robes, they would never have believed it. These robes were near, if not at, Master quality and he was submitting them for Journeyman!

“You have passed, Harry,” Mr. Twilfitt spoke very quietly. Though no one was nearby, one couldn’t be too careful.

“We’d note you for straight Mastery if we could,” Mr. Tatting continued.

“These are fantastic work,” Mr. Twilfitt commented.

“We’ll see you on Monday to discuss ways and means,” Mr. Tatting finished. 

Harry nodded, shocked by their response to his work, but unsurprised by their use of his real name. One of the stipulations Lord Malfoy had put in his apprenticeship contract was that they take a vow of silence regarding his identity. Lucius wanted Harry’s skills and achievements to be under his own name, not Rigel Black. 


	13. Chapter 12 - Familial Bonds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Previously: More explanation of A/B/O, thread magic, and a Coming Out Party
> 
> In this chapter: 2nd core maturation, Lammas

###  _ Monday, July 30th, 1990 _

Harry was looking forward to his second core maturation that evening. He had stayed with Draco the night before his birthday, both of them wanting to know what would happen, and Draco not wanting to be alone. They wound up making a small party of it, the two of them talking and playing with Tansy and Dobby coming with tea and snacks since the boys decided to stay up to midnight, not wanting to miss a second of whatever was going to happen. 

Narcissa had told them hers had been a bit of discomfort and a wave of accidental magic, but nothing too exciting. Severus said he had been in the muggle world for his and unfortunately, due to his father’s treatment, had been blacked out from injury and so he couldn’t tell them anything about it. The boys knew how his father treated him, and nodded mournfully. Lucius had said his was rather painful as his core received quite a boost, and his wave of magic had set the forest near the manor on fire. His parents had not been pleased.

All three adults had made their way to Draco’s room around 11:30, wanting to check on them, and if they were still awake, they would stay with them during Draco’s transition. As such the family was together at midnight when power started spilling out of the small boy lying on the bed, twitching lightly, and moaning a bit as it coursed through him. The power built and built until it seemed it might press them all into the ground when it found an outlet in the form of lighting all the candles and stoking all the fires in the manor. Lucius was pleased to feel the growth of his son’s power, and laughed a bit that his magic reacted in a similar manner to Lucius’s, though it was certainly less destructive. Draco’s pulse of magic kept everything lit through the wee hours of the morning, only sputtering out sometime around dawn. Lucius was wondering if this manifestation would result in a gift for Fire Magic for Draco. He had not received the gift, but rather the Dark Magic affinity for all the elemental magics. Most spells involving the elements were easier for him, but he thought perhaps Draco might get the gift in fire. Once Draco had woken, later in the day, they realized his aura sight, which had originally manifested when he was seven at that horrid dinner party with the Dursleys, had grown in power and accuracy and was now even stronger than his father’s.

Therefore, 11:30 on July 30th again saw the three adults headed to the children, but this time they made their way to Harry’s room. Harry was already laying on the bed, though not asleep. He had told Draco he could feel a strange pressure inside him and was worried about what might happen. He hoped being in bed with his blanket and his plush stag, grim, and wolf would help keep him calm while he waited. Draco, being concerned, was seated next to him on the bed, grasping his hand, and running his other hand through Harry’s hair.

Lucius had Draco move about five minutes before midnight. He took his son’s place stating that he was an alpha, and Harry’s magic would hurt him less than any of the others if something were to happen. Harry was groaning already, and his eyes were beginning to glow faintly. At midnight everything seemed to stop for a split second before rushing back in with a vengeance. Harry screamed as power ripped through him. His eyes glowed an unholy  _ Avada Kedavra _ green, and all the lights in the house went out. Bone chilling cold creeped through them, and Harry began thrashing on the bed. Lucius grabbed his legs and called Severus to hold his arms. While they watched Harry’s features began shifting and his hair was changing color. The pressure of his magic was growing, far more than Draco’s had, and didn’t appear to be finding an outlet. Just when they were all beginning to have trouble sucking air into their lungs from the pressure of Harry’s growing magic, the force broke, and everything in the manor began levitating. House elves, people, bric-a-brac, books, furniture, everything. It was a shocking display of raw power. Narcissa had seen children in St. Mungos on their second maturation do smaller versions of this, but it was usually limited to the room, and didn’t typically include life forms. Severus and Lucius had never seen anything of this magnitude, nor heard any stories of anything similar. Harry’s power was immense. 

When the levitation started Draco had swum through the air, snatching Harry’s plushies on his way. He didn’t have to grab the blanket because Harry had never let go of it, even in his near-convulsions earlier. He maneuvered himself over to Harry, who had finally stopped moving since he had blacked out when the power had snapped. Lucius and Severus were swimming over to Narcissa, who was trying to assist the house elves in returning things to their proper places, but nothing was working.

“I suppose we’ll just have to wait until it wears off, unless we have a way to tell if there are any rooms unaffected?” Lucius mused.

Tink popped in and held a very brief whispered conversation with Tansy and Dobby who were floating in a corner.

“Mistress Cissa, everything bes floating. Everything overs the whole house, Mistress,” Tink warbled to Narcissa.

Harry’s opinions on house elf treatment had been taken to heart at the Malfoy and Prince households, and their elves were better for it. They were much more inclined to take the initiative to start tasks, bring information, or do other small things without direct orders to help the family. 

“Thank you, Tink,” Narcissa responded, holstering her wand, giving up on getting anything back on the floor right now. “Your timing, as always, is impeccable. Do not punish yourselves for the likely mess which will result when this wears off. It is Harry’s second core maturation, so we’re unsure how long the levitation will last. Do your best at your tasks, and we’ll find snack foods and individually packaged drinks if we are hungry or thirsty in the meantime.”

“Yes, Mistress,” Tink said, popping out.

“Well, you heard her,” Narcissa spoke to the room at large, “It’s affecting the whole house, so there’s nothing to be done.”

“Why don’t we head to the playroom?” Lucius indicated the door. “I put cushioning charms on nearly everything, and there’s plenty of blankets and pillows. As we don’t know when this will end, I’d rather be in a room that won’t do damage to me when it does.”

“Agreed,” Narcissa and Severus said.

Draco grabbed Harry’s plushies once more, but even out cold, his grip on his blanket never slacked. Narcissa  _ Accio _ -ed Draco to her, and floated back a few feet when he got to her, unable to brace against anything to stop his or her momentum. Severus  _ Accio _ -ed Harry while Lucius swam for the playroom door. Once he was inside, he  _ Accio _ -ed each child and pushed them towards what had been the cozy corner. Blankets and pillows were floating all over that area. Severus and Narcissa swam into the room, selected blankets and pillows, and… laid down in the air? They all grabbed hands like otters so no one would float off, and resolved to get whatever sleep they could while in this strange situation.

\----------

###  _ Tuesday, July 31, 1990 _

“Ow,” Harry said when he woke around lunchtime. His voice woke the others, who had slept surprising well given they were all still levitating.

Harry looked around, adorably confused by his location and the fact that everything was floating .

“Your second core maturation was certainly memorably, dear,” Narcissa started as they all stretched and bobbed in mid-air. “I am nearly afraid to see the final one,” she said with an uncharacteristic giggle.

Severus cast a  _ tempus _ , “It’s nearing 12:30 now. More than twelve hours have passed since his second maturation and the magic is still levitating everything,” he said with an expression of wonder he would deny to his dying day.

“Let’s see how far this extends,” Lucius decided. “Coby,” he called his house elf.

“Coby is here, Master Lucius,” the elf squeaked.

“Could you please take us to the silver sunroom?” Lucius asked the small elf.

Coby snapped his fingers and Tink, Dobby, Tansy, and Amaranth popped into the room. “Master Lucius wishes family to be in Silver Sunroom,” Coby instructed.

Each elf nodded and popped to their assigned human. Another pop and the whole family was in the Silver Sunroom, where the boys had waited for their presentation at the Coming Out Party. They were all still floating.

“Alright,” Lucius spoke again, “Let’s try the gazebo in the Rose Garden.

Coby was the first to pop off to follow his master’s instruction. 

Pop! Still floating.

“The stables?” suggested Narcissa.

This time Tink led the group.

Pop! Still floating. Only now they were eye to eye with very confused levitating pegasi and abraxans, who whickered in greeting when they saw their humans, but continued to look confused as they remained airborne, though not under their own power as would usually occur.

“The potions garden,” Severus instructed the elf which took care of him at Malfoy Manor, Amaranth.

Pop! Still floating.

“LOOK!” Draco shouted before anyone could suggest another location, even further from the manor. “We’re still floating, but that snake by the tree isn’t. And the birds in the tree are flying and landing like normal.”

“So they are,” Lucius agreed. “Weakening with distance from the original source?” he continued thinking out loud.

“Interesting that it isn’t a fixed amount stopping at a specific place or radius,” Severus commented.

“Indeed.” Lucius muttered absently.

“The brook in the forest grove, you know the one, Tansy,” Draco interrupted their thoughts.

Pop! Draco arrived. Pop! Everyone else did.

Still floating.

“I think we’re a bit lower this time,” Draco commented. “I was nearly as high as Father’s head when we were laying down in the manor. Now, I’m only about 20 cm off the ground.”

“Oh good, we’re close then,” Narcissa said with a small sigh.

“My spot, please Dobby,” Harry said quietly.

Pops.

…

_ Not _ floating. Standing on a small hill, overlooking a beautiful meadow filled with all sorts of flowers. A few trees were scattered around, and they had landed in the shade of a small clump of them.

“This is lovely, Harry,” Narcissa said smiling. “Why did you not tell of this place before?”

“Draco and I come here sometimes to think. I asked Dobby for a place to think one afternoon, and we stayed until the sun set and it was so pretty we just kept coming back. Not often, of course, but it’s sort of… our spot,” Harry finished.

“We won’t take it from you,” Severus said, clasping a hand on Harry’s shoulder. 

“I think we should have breakfast here,” Lucius commented.

“Oh, can we?” Draco pleaded a bit.

“Of course,” Narcissa agreed. “Tink, Tansy, Dobby, please see about food for us, nothing too difficult, we are eating outside after all,” she instructed with a smile. “Coby, Amaranth, please fetch us some blankets to sit on, and perhaps Harry’s and my latest projects?” She glanced at him for confirmation.

“Yes please, my box is next to my bed,” Harry said. “Well...it should be in my room at least,” he finished deprecatingly, remembering how everything had been floating.

A few minutes later saw them seated on blankets under the shade of the trees, looking out over the meadow. Narcissa and Harry were working on their needlepoint projects while Lucius and Draco discussed a few minor things with the business. Severus had wandered away to see if he could locate any potions ingredients in this new-found trove, and the elves who brought their blankets had popped away to assist the others with the food.

Half an hour later saw all five elves popping back up with baskets full of pastries, croissants, bottles of juice, thin slices of ham, and cheese. They all sat for their meal, and the elves wandered into the meadow looking for cooking ingredients or other edible plants.

They spent over an hour in the lovely spot before packing up their impromptu picnic and requesting the elves take them back to the house. They were immediately floating again, much to the group’s amusement and Harry’s mortification.

“I’m so sorry!” He started stammering apologies. “I didn’t mean to!”

“Harry, it is nothing to apologize for,” Severus stopped the babbled flow of words. “It will wear off eventually, and it is merely proof of how strong your magic really is.”

“Harry nodded, accepting it.

They all floated back into the playroom with books, projects and the like. About an hour later they all started slowly sinking. They felt a small surge of magic and when everything hit the floor it was smooth and gentle, and everything was back in it’s usual place.

“Wow…” Narcissa breathed.

“I’ve never felt a  _ second _ pulse like that before,” Severus said.

“Almost like his magic didn’t want to hurt anything or cause any more work,” Lucius added.

“Well, at least we can walk again. As nice as it was floating, it’s good to be able to get somewhere without swimming… or popping,” Harry said with a laugh. “And, now I can get everything ready for the Lammas ritual tomorrow!”

“Yes, you will lead tomorrow,” Lucius started. Draco had led the Litha ritual on the summer solstice in June, as it was customary for a child to lead the first ritual after their tenth birthday. Harry had been excited to find out they would allow him to lead the ritual after his tenth birthday as well. 

“But until then,” Lucius continued, “there is one wizarding tradition that we have not yet followed for your tenth birthday.”

Harry looked around confused at all the others who had smiles on their faces.

“As you know, we turned over ownership of Tansy to Draco on his tenth birthday. We give a house elf to a child on their tenth birthday because their magic is strong enough after the second maturation to provide enough magic to support the house elf bond without draining the child’s magic entirely. Therefore, you have been granted ownership of the elf who has been taking care of you since you joined us. Dobby will be  _ your  _ house elf from now on and will be bound to your orders before anyone else’s. We can of course still give orders as we are functioning as your guardians, so rules will still be enforced, and any orders we give for your safety or personal well-being will be followed. We will be going to Gringotts on Thursday for both Draco’s and your first inheritance tests, and both of you will be performing the House Elf Bonding ritual while we are there,” Lucius finished and then sighed. “Normally, you would have received an animal who would become your familiar as well, but since we didn’t have you for your seventh birthday, we were unable to get you one. Only an animal gifted for the first core maturation can become a familiar, after that time has passed, the wixen must select their own animal or animals to become familiars as their magic is too strong and must form the beginning stage of the familiar bond with the animal itself. I am sorry you won’t be able to do your first familiar ritual with Draco.”

“Oh, it’s ok. I’m sure I’ll get a familiar eventually,” Harry said with a small smile. “Thank you for everything. You’ve all be so kind to me, taking me in, and getting me everything I need. I couldn’t have picked a better family for myself if I had tried,” Harry finished, rushing to all three adults for hugs.

\----------

###  _ Wednesday, August 1, 1990 (Lammas) _

Harry was pleased to be leading the first harvest ritual of the year, a time for giving thanks, protecting the harvest, and rejecting fears. He had made white robes for all the participants which he had embroidered gold sheaves of wheat tied with purple ribbon to symbolize the grain harvest around the foot. He had instructed the Malfoys and Severus to come wearing plain white garments, and was hopeful they would appreciate his work on their ritual robes. He had also convinced the elves to let him into the kitchen to bake the bread for the ritual himself, as well as mix the protective oil he wished to use. 

Now he was in the ritual room, making his final preparations. He prepared two rowan sticks and a red thread for each of them, placing them by each of the cardinal points on the circle for easy access. He would stand in the center of the circle and had four candles (orange, yellow, gold, and purple) at the cardinal points on a floating gold platter next to where he would stand. The platter held his loaf of bread, a gold bowl filled with rowan for the ritual fire, and the small bottle of protective oil. On the floor he had a rowan broom. He had cleansed the room by burning sage and it was nearly time.

At sunset he stood by the door to the ritual room, with each of the robes and his bottle of protective oil. 

As each person entered he handed them their ritual robe. Once they had it on, he dropped 3 drops of protection oil on their heads and repeated a blessing, 

Lucius entered first and was sent to the east point. “Hail and welcome. Hyssop, Lavender, Mugwort, Patchouli, Protect this man, so mote it be.”

Draco was next and went South. “Hail and welcome. Hyssop, Lavender, Mugwort, Patchouli, Protect my brother, so mote it be.” 

Narcissa came after and “Hail and welcome. Hyssop, Lavender, Mugwort, Patchouli, Protect my heart-mother, so mote it be.” She went to the West point, a tear in her eye, after bestowing her heart son with a hug. 

Severus came last and laid a comforting hand on Harry’s shoulder. “Hail and welcome. Hyssop, Lavender, Mugwort, Patchouli, Protect my heart-father, so mote it be.” Severus jerked in surprise, but patted Harry’s shoulder and strode confidently to the North point.

Harry stepped lightly into the center of their circle saying, “Tonight we celebrate Lammas, the first harvest of the year. We celebrate the reaping of bounties from seeds sown throughout the year – both those seeds sown out in the fields, and the seeds we sow in our own lives. We call upon the Spirits of the North, of the Earth from which the plants that feed us grow.

Severus responded, “Hail and welcome!”

Harry continued, “We call upon the Spirits of the East, of the Air and the Wind that dances across the fields.”

Lucius answered, “Hail and welcome!”

Harry turned to Draco, “We call upon the Spirits of the South, of the Fire and the Sun that gives the plants life.”

And Draco replied, “Hail and welcome!”

He choked a bit when he saw the tear in Narcissa’s eye as he spoke to the west, “We call upon the Spirits of the West, of the Water and Rain that nourishes the plants.”

Her reply was a bit watery, “Hail and welcome!”

Draco had included Harry in his Litha ritual, and so Harry had also offered to have Draco help with his.  They had been practicing for weeks for this next part, and couldn’t wait to see their parents’ response to what they were about to do. 

Harry spoke clearly, “I call upon fire to light this candle of orange. Burn into us energy, vitality, and determination.” Draco snapped his fingers and candle flame lit, a small spark jumping to the bowl of rowan twigs in the center of the platter. All three adults had shocked looks on their faces. The boys barely suppressed their crows of happiness over managing such a thing.

Draco spoke next, “I call upon fire to light this candle of yellow. Burn into us Loyalty, hope, and happiness.” Here Harry snapped his fingers, and the candle wick in front of him burst into flame, again a small spark jumping to the bowl.

They spoke the final two together, asking for fire to burn into them Wealth, abundance for the gold candle, and Wealth and ambition for the purple. They joined their hands while snapping with the other to set the candles aflame. This time two sparks jumped and the ritual fire of rowan was lit.

The adults were floored by the display of controlled wandless magic from both boys, not to mention the paired casting. They couldn’t believe the power of their young sons. 

Harry pulled their attention back, lifting his loaf of bread and offering a small blessing, “May your harvest be bountiful and sustain you through the cold winter months ahead. May the love of friends, family, and Mother Magic warm you always.” He broke the loaf into five pieces, offering one to each of them. Each took a small bite and threw the rest into the fire, saying, “I make this sacrifice to protect my home and family.”

Once the fire stopped jumping from the addition of the bread, Harry lifted the two twigs of rowan and the red thread next to him, indicating for all the others to do the same. He crossed the twigs and tied them together with the thread. 

“I make this sacrifice to protect my home and family. I reject the fears that plague me, and cast them into the fire. Red thread and rowan wood, evil goes out, and in comes good.” He tossed the cross into the fire which jumped and incinerated the cross instantly. He motioned to Severus to do the same, so each participant made their cross and sacrificed it to the ritual fire.

He picked up the broom and stepped out of the circle, sweeping around the group three times as he said, “By one, two, three, and four, sweep Lammas gifts to our door. Abundance and protection, be constant friends, and stay by our hearth till winter ends.” He stepped back into the center of the circle and spoke, “Mother Magic, Spirits of the Grain, of the Harvest, and of Nature, thank you for your blessings upon this circle. Stay if you will, go if you must. Hail and Farewell!”

All of them responded, “Hail and Farewell!”

He dismissed Narcissa first, “Spirits of the West, of Water. Thank you for your blessings upon this circle. Stay if you will, go if you must. Hail and Farewell!” 

“Hail and Farewell!” she responded, taking a step back off the cardinal point and out of the full circle. The purple candle winked out, and a flicker of the ritual fire died.

Harry turned to Draco, “Spirits of the South, of Fire. Thank you for your blessings upon this circle. Stay if you will, go if you must. Hail and Farewell!”

“Hail and Farewell!” Draco stepped back as the gold candle flickered and died as did a tendril of the flame

He moved to Lucius next. “Spirits of the East, of Air. Thank you for your blessings upon this circle. Stay if you will, go if you must. Hail and Farewell!”

“Hail and Farewell!” Lucius pulled out of the ring and the orange candle and a piece of the ritual fire were extinguished.

And ended with Severus. “Spirits of the North, of Earth. Thank you for your blessings upon this circle. Stay if you will, go if you must. Hail and Farewell!”

“Hail and Farewell!” Severus backed away, the yellow candle died, and the ritual flame went out. 

They all spoke together, “Hail and Farewell.”

A pulse of magic was released when the flames were doused, and all the participants sighed with the flow of magic through them. The ritual was complete.


	14. Chapter 13 - Testing Bonds Pt. 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Previously: 2nd core maturation, Lammas
> 
> In this Chapter: A trip to Gringotts
> 
> 2 Chapters posted because I forgot to post an extra chapter for the July 4th holiday in the US, and also because I hate cliffhangers.

###  _ Thursday, August 2, 1990 _

The morning after Lammas the entire family was up and ready by 7:30. They had breakfast and were preparing to arrive at Gringotts by 8:30. Lucius had booked their appointments with Griphook and Gornuk for the entire day, knowing from their various meetings that Harry’s inheritance test was going to show many things which would need to be resolved. Due to the secrecy surrounding Griphook as the bonded House Potter account manager, they couldn’t get specifics until Harry had been proved to be the Potter heir and could release details himself or allow Griphook to do so for him. Everyone knew it was coming, Harry included, and they all wanted it fixed. Harry and Draco had been included in the meetings since Harry came to the Malfoys, and the amount of things they suspected were coming was nothing short of an avalanche which they hoped to harness towards the downfall of Harry’s  _ acting _ magical guardian.

Therefore, at 8:25, the Malfoys, Harry-without his glamour ring, and Severus were standing in front of the receiving room fire, each holding a handful of floo powder. They went one at a time, Lucius stepping into the fire and calling out “Gringotts, London, Gornuk’s Office,” before the fire whooshed him away. Narcissa left next, followed by Draco, then Harry, and Severus being last. They arrived in a rush, Lucius and Narcissa waving their wands to clean the soot and ash from everyone’s clothes. Gornuk and Griphook were waiting for them in the office.

“May your gold ever grow, Account Manager Gornuk and Account Manager Griphook,” Lucius said formally once they were clean.

All the others parroted him.

“And your enemies suffer, House Malfoy, Lord Prince, Heir-Presumptive Potter,” the two goblins replied. 

“Now, let us begin as we are certain there will be much to resolve. Time is short, please dispense with formality,” Gornuk instructed as he guided them to the conference style table and chairs which had replaced the usual desk and small sitting area for today’s meeting. They had many things to take care of.

“Certainly,” Lucius responded for them all. “Draco, you will go first as there should be nothing pressing for you.”

Draco nodded, and scooted forward in his chair, raising himself up on his arms to better see the table and the goblin across from him.

“Yes, inheritance test, familiar bond, house elf bond, correct?” Gornuk said, checking the list they had put together at their previous meeting.

“Correct,” Lucius confirmed.

Gornuk pulled one of the two pieces of Inheritance Test Parchment over, along with a white candle and gold needle. He waved the needle over the candle flame, and handed it to Draco saying, “Three drops of blood on the top of the parchment.”

Draco took the needle and pricked his finger, carefully holding his finger upright until he had over the correct location on the parchment, then flipping his hand over and allowing three drops of blood to fall. The small prick healed instantly, and the parchment began to faintly glow. A few moments later, the glow had dissipated and words spread from the top of the parchment, down, filling it with an elegant script.

_**Draconis Lucius Malfoy** _

Age: 10

Est. Power Level: 102

Father: Lucius Abraxas Malfoy (PL: 190)

Mother: Narcissa Callisto Malfoy, née Black (PL: 120)

Godfather: Severus Tobias Prince (PL: 188)

Godmother: Estella Lucia de Luca, née Giordano, née Schmidt, née Fournier, née Zabini, née Rossi, née Durand, née Rosier (PL: 136)

**Status**

_ Lord _

Not applicable

_ Heir _

The Honorable and Most Noble House of Prince ( _ Magic-godfather _ )

The Noble and Most Ancient House of Malfoy ( _ Blood and Magic-Paternal) _

_ Family Membership _

The Honorable and Most Noble House of Prince

The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black

The Noble and Most Ancient House of Malfoy

**Affinities and Gifts**

Animagus - Affinity ( _ Brother Bond _ )

Aura Sight - Gift ( _ Malfoy _ )

Dark Arts - Affinity ( _ Malfoy) _

Dueling - Affinity ( _ Black _ )

Fire Magic - Gift

Potions - Affinity ( _ Prince _ )

**Rituals**

Magical Brother Bond ( _ Hadrian James Potter-Black _ )

**Other**

Goblin Friend

**Vaults**

78 - Black Family Vault (No Access, requires permission of Lord)

104 - Malfoy Family Vault (Limited Access)

107 - Malfoy Heir Vault

603 - Prince Family Vault (Limited Access)

606 - Prince Heir Vault

_ Properties and vault valuations available upon request.  _

\----

“Ah, I had hoped, given the peculiarity of your power at your second maturation, that you would wind up with a gift for Fire Magic, son,” Lucius said proudly. “It is nice that the veela gift from our ancient bloodline has manifested again.”

“But look...,” Narcissa said, pointing to Harry’s name in the ritual section.

While the adults were distracted by Harry’s name as it appeared on Draco’s test, Griphook waved the golden needle over the candle flame, and handed it to Harry, while sliding him his own Inheritance Test parchment.

Harry pricked his finger, and dropped his blood, waiting to see what would come of his test. He knew there would be more, but none of them were prepared for just exactly what they were about to see.

_**Hadrian James Potter-Black** _

Age: 10

Est. Power Level: 147

Father: James Charlus Potter (PL: 175) - Deceased, bond stabilized due to protection ritual

Father: Sirius Orion Black (PL: 184) - Azkaban, bond stabilized due to protection ritual

Mother: Lillian Jayne Evans-Potter (PL: 125) - Deceased, bond stabilized due to protection ritual

Godfather: Sirius Orion Black (PL: 184) - Azkaban, bond stabilized due to protection ritual

Godmother: Alice Marie Longbottom, née McKinnon (PL: 134) - Failing due to insanity

**Status**

_ Lord _

The New-Blood House of Evans ( _ Blood and Magic - Maternal _ )

The Honorable and Most Noble House of Peverell ( _ Blood and Magic - Paternal, Conquest) _

The Honorable and Most Noble House of Potter ( _ Blood and Magic - Paternal) _

The Ancient and Most Imperial House of Gryffindor ( _ Blood and Magic - Maternal _ )

The Ancient and Most Imperial House of Merlin ( _ Magick _ )

_ Heir _

The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black ( _ Blood and Magic - Paternal) _

The Noble and Most Ancient House of Gaunt ( _ Conquest _ )

The Ancient and Most Imperial House of Slytherin ( _ Conquest _ )

_ Family Membership _

The New-Blood House of Evans 

The Honorable and Most Noble House of Peverell 

The Honorable and Most Noble House of Potter

The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black 

The Noble and Most Ancient House of Gaunt 

The Ancient and Most Imperial House of Gryffindor

The Ancient and Most Imperial House of Merlin

The Ancient and Most Imperial House of Slytherin

  
  


**Affinities and Gifts**

Animagus - Gift ( _ Potter, Black, Gryffindor, Merlin _ ): 50% blocked

Aura Sight - Gift ( _ Gryffindor, Brother Bond _ ): 100% blocked

Charms - Affinity ( _ Evans, Peverell _ ): 75% blocked

Care of Magical Creatures - Affinity ( _ Gryffindor _ ): 50% blocked

Defense - Affinity ( _ Gryffindor _ ): Block broken

Duelling - Affinity (Black): 25% blocked

Metamorphmagus - Gift ( _ Black _ ): 100% blocked

Necromancy - Gift ( _ Peverell _ ): 100% blocked

Parselmagic - Gift ( _ Slytherin, Gaunt _ ): Block broken

Potions - Affinity ( _ Potter, Slytherin _ ): 50% blocked

Transfiguration - Affinity (Potter): 75% blocked

Thread Magic - Affinity ( _ Merlin _ ): Block broken

Wandless Magic - ( _ Slytherin _ ): 25% blocked

**Rituals**

Blood Protection ( _ James Charlus Potter, Sirius Orion Black, Lillian Jayne Evans-Potter _ )

Fidelius ( _ James Charlus Potter, Sirius Orion Black, Lillian Jayne Evans-Potter, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, Secret Keeper: Peter Jacob Pettigrew)  _ \- Broken

Horcrux ( _ Thomas Marvolo Riddle _ )

Magical Brother Bond ( _ Draconis Lucius Malfoy _ )

Magical Suppression ( _ Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore _ ) - 50% broken

Physical Appearance Suppression ( _ Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore _ ) - 50% broken

Physical Strength Suppression ( _ Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore _ )

Secondary Gender Suppression ( _ Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore _ )

**Other**

Goblin Friend

Master of Death ( _ Presumptive _ )

**Vaults**

1 - Merlin Family Vault

3 - Gryffindor Family Vault

6 - Slytherin Family Vault (Limited Access)

8 - Slytherin Heir Vault

61 - Gaunt Family Vault (Limited Access)

63 - Gaunt Heir Vault

78 - Black Family Vault (Limited Access)

81 - Black Heir Vault

501 - Peverell Family Vault

686 - Potter Family Vault

687 - Potter Heir Vault

1986 - Evans Family Vault

1987 - Evans Heir Vault

_ Properties and vault valuations available upon request.  _

\----

There was absolute silence in the office as the five wixen in the room took in  _ Hadrian’s  _ results. Gornuk was less surprised, but he had known slightly more than the wixen. Griphook had not thought he would be surprised at all, but the presence of Gaunt and Slytherin, as well as Hadrian being a horcrux and the presumptive Master of Death did shock him. All of them were completely silent as their minds raced to catch up and understood the blood, families, and power-both magical and political-the young man held.

The goblins collected themselves much faster than the wixen, and so Gornuk returned to his desk to press the clear cube and make a number of requests: all the heir- and lordship rings for the two children, an order for a full blood and magic diagnostic for Hadrian, and to request the reservation of the largest ritual room and it’s attendants for the upcoming ritual removals, as well as the more pleasant familiar and house elf bondings which would be occurring. Given young Hadrian’s power while under the magical block, he had no doubt the largest room with its ward stones and Grand Master Goblin Warders would be needed to contain his power once it was fully released.

There was a knock on the office door and Severus snapped to attention at the sound, quickly waving his wand to hide the results of Hadrian’s inheritance test. 

“Enter,” Gornuk snapped out.

Another goblin dashed into the room carrying a small box. He placed it on the table, and turned around and left. Griphook drew a finger down the box and when he reached the edge a click was heard and the box opened. Gornuk waved a hand and boxes began levitating out of the original box and into a line on the table. Gornuk pushed a gold and silver box as well as a Malfoy Blue box towards Draco, but stopped Hadrian from reaching for any of his. Draco opened the Malfoy box and sighed in appreciation for the lovely silver ring depicting the Malfoy coat of arms with two small sapphires on either side and the family motto “ _ Sanctimonia Vincet Semper _ ” engraved along the band. He opened the Prince box and his eyes grew as he looked at the simple yet elegant woven gold and white gold band.

Severus pulled the ring from the Prince box, while Lucius plucked the ring from the Malfoy box, and both knelt before Draco, pride shining in their eyes as one after the other, they slid their ring on Draco’s right hand pinkie. The rings merged, the Malfoy coat of arms and sapphires being merged with the woven band of the Prince ring.

“Heir Prince-Malfoy,” Lucius and Severus said to Draco formally.

“Lord Malfoy, Lord Prince,” Draco responded formally, bowing also.

“Heir Prince-Malfoy,” Narcissa, Hadrian, Gornuk, and Griphook said together. 

“Lady Malfoy, …” here Draco paused, the situation with his brother’s titles throwing him. Gornuk quickly whispered to him and he continued immediately, “Heir Potter, Account Manager Gornuk, Account Manager Griphook.”

Gornuk brought his hands together sharply, “Now that that’s taken care of, we move on to the more difficult part of the morning.”

Griphook took over the conversation. “I am the bonded account manager for the House Potter, Heir Potter, and unfortunately, you cannot put on the rings until after we’ve broken those binds on your magic at the very least. You’ve been a part of the planning meetings, and I know we discussed your options for the various suppression rituals. What have you decided to do about removing the bindings?”

Harry turned to Severus , who nodded, for confirmation and then spoke, “I’d like to have them all removed, everything except my brother bond to Draco, and I guess that blood protection can stay as well.”

“Very good, sir, we wouldn’t have been able to break either of those anyway,” Griphook responded. “Due to the nature of the blocks, we’d like to perform a full blood and magic diagnostic. You must agree to this before we can perform it. It’s very simple, similar to the Inheritance Test, a goblin healer will purify the gold needle and hand it to you, you will be required to place 7 drops of blood on a special parchment, and then the parchment will activate, generating a magical field around you which will read your physical, mental, and magical health, culminating in a full medical history which is admissible as evidence in court. I know your plans for your acting magical guarding so this diagnostic would be beneficial to have hidden away in a vault for when it’s needed. Do you accept the Blood and Magic Diagnostic, Heir Potter?”

“I do,” Harry responded.

Gornuk pressed the cube on his desk once more requesting a goblin healer for the scan. 

A few minutes later, there was a sharp rap on the door. Gornuk called for the goblin to enter.

“I am Grand Master Healer Elvux,” the new goblin said in a voice slightly higher than the two other goblins in the room, but just as grating. 

“May your gold ever flow, Grand Master Healer Elvux,” the room greeted.

“And your enemies suffer, friends,” Elvux responded. “Where is my patient?”

Hadrian raised his hand a little, and the diminutive healer strode purposefully towards him. She waved the gold needle they had used previously over the candle and handed it to him. She pulled a slightly glowing parchment from her pocket and laid it on the table in front of Hadrian. “Seven drops,” she instructed.

Harry pricked his finger again, letting the required seven drops of blood fall on this new parchment. His finger healed instantly, and they waited while the parchment began glowing brighter and brighter until they had to squint to see through the glare. It appeared that the parchment was obliterated, but careful inspection showed that it had separated into millions of nearly microscopic particles which were now floating around Hadrian forming a bright orb around him. They waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Nearly 30 minutes into their wait the Elvux’s eyes were enormous, and she was mumbling in gobbledegook under her breath. Finally, 45 minutes after Harry had dropped his blood on the parchment, the orb began to break up and the parchment started reforming on the table.

Narcissa was a healer as well, having completed her training when Draco was five, so she was curious as to what this diagnostic would show. They weren’t often done, usually only for the most extreme cases, and she had never encountered one during her time working. The goblin healer was clearly expecting the worst, her increasing mumbling during their wait had proved that, but she and Narcissa exchanged started glances when the parchment grew and grew and grew until it was nearly 10 feet in length, showing line after line of injuries with their corresponding treatment or possible lack thereof.

When it finally stopped, Elvux ripped the parchment off the table, the excess pooling on the floor under the shocked stares of the entire room.

“Expected, expected, expected…” they heard her mumbling as she read through Harry’s babyhood.

“Not expected, not expected, Oh that’s terrible,” her running commentary got progressively worse the longer she read.

Narcissa rose from her seat and picked up the top of the sheet now that the healer was nearing the end. She couldn’t couldn’t believe her eyes as she started reading the horrible truth of young Hadrian’s life with the muggles he had been placed with. 

When Elvux finished reading, she pierced the two account managers with a chilling stare.

“We’re working on it,” they said in a rush, trying to mitigate the damage one thoroughly angry goblin healer could do. “There are plans in place already, we just want the young man healed of anything required.”

Her glare diminished but her intensity did not.

“It’s a miracle he’s alive,” she proclaimed to the room bluntly. “He needs a full purge, a full round of grand nutrient potions, and we’ll need to remove a number of bones to be completely regrown due to the damage he previously sustained. He’ll likely need muscle stimulants as well, his muscle tone is nearly nonexistent, even with the care you’ve given him. It’s clear you’ve been taking care of him since he came to your home, don’t think we don’t know it, but now that we know the full extent of the damage, we’ll fix it.”

“I will brew any potions required, Goblin Healer Elvux,” Severus stated neutrally. “Potions Master Lord Severus Prince, he offered his name.

She nodded, “Potions Master Lord Prince.”

“Is there anything we can do at home to assist?” Narcissa asked worriedly.

“I will provide a nutrition plan which will bolster the effects of the grand nutrient potions, but until he’s had a purge and we can figure out what’s the matter with his physical make up, I can’t say more than that.

“He has rituals on him for magic, physical appearance, physical strength, and secondary gender suppression,” Griphook told the healer. “She is bound by magic to secrecy when it concerns her patients, this will not go further,” he assured the wixen.

“WHAT?!?” The healer shrieked. “No wonder he is out of sorts,” she mumbled. “We will get them removed at once!” she returned to her confident near shout.

“We have the main ritual room waiting. We wanted the diagnostic first, before we removed the evidence,” Gornuk jumped in quickly.

“We go now,” She ordered, taking Hadrian’s hand and nearly frog marching him out the door and to the ritual room.

The Malfoys and Severus looked a little taken aback at how quickly that had escalated. They had known Harry would have blocks and physical issues. Whatever was in Harry’s diagnostic paired with the knowledge of the blocks clearly meant something more to the healer than to them.

Griphook led the small company after Harry and Elvux, giving some instruction along the way. “You may be in the room during the ritual, but you will have to sit in the viewing gallery as we cannot have any interference in the magic lest it do irreparable harm to the subject. You will be behind our strongest wardstones. This entire ritual room has them inlaid in the floor to assist with particularly large or draining rituals, but given the severity of the Healer Elvux’s reaction to the blocks on young Hadrian, and his current power level even through the blocks…” he trailed off, letting everyone know the goblins were sure those warding stones would be needed for more than just the protection of the family watching.

This was the first time any of them had entered this particular ritual room, and they were shocked by it’s rather magnificent appearance. Gornuk noticed their awe and began explaining several of the main features in the room.

“This is Gringotts Great Britain’s largest ritual room. It was constructed before written history during the time of Bladvak the Piercer. As far as the oral records tell us, a team of five hundred goblin stonemasons were charged with mining, cutting, and polishing the black heart rock this room is constructed of. During the ritual, you may be able to feel the rock pulsing in time with the magic due to it’s deep connection with the heart of the Earth, and therefore Lady Magic.” Gornuk paused, allowing them to look around another moment.

The rock was not purely black, it contained flecks of white and silver, so tiny they appeared to be glitter. While it didn’t glow, they could definitely feel  _ something _ about the room, and Draco and Lucius especially were intrigued with what they might sense during the upcoming ritual.

Gornuk began speaking again, “on the floor you will notice our standard ritual circle set up. This basic circle was inlaid in the floor with one hundred year old witchhazel. When used for more complex rituals, this inlay can be manipulated to form other shapes as needed. We cleanse the room both before and after each use, smudging white sage and rosemary for 30 minutes prior to and after use. The heart rock absorbs residual magic, so coupled with the cleansing, we can ensure each ritual is as pure and exact as possible.”

The group was nodding, so he led them to their seats. “We have 7 wardstones of Malijar’s Gift circling this space so that no magic will harm you. The room itself boasts seven times seven wardstones of Malijar’s gift inlaid in the perimeter to bolster the rituals and prevent magical leakage. There is a company of forty-nine Grand Master Goblin Wardmasters and seven Grand Master Goblin Healers assigned to this room specifically. You have of course already met Grand Master Healer Elvux who is assigned to this room.”

The adults’ stiff postures relaxed a bit at this clear display of preparedness, and they took to watching the goblins bustling about preparing for Hadrian’s cleansing with greater attention. Lucius and Draco were particularly interested as both had activated their aura sight and were comparing what they saw in this room to Lucius’ knowledge of auras outside this room. They held whispered conversation, Lucius directing certain things to Draco’s attention, and Draco asking whatever questions popped into his head. They concluded the auras were the same, only stronger, something Lucius attributed to the heart stone construction which he could see glowing with a slowly pulsing white light, and the Malajar’s Gift wardstones, which he could see by the silvery grey glows spaced evenly around their viewing area, and evenly around the ritual space.

Seven goblins were setting up candles around the circle in lavender, green, and black. Black candles made up the largest ring outside the ritual circle, but inside the wardstone ring. These were for the protection of all within the circle. Lavender and green candles made up a much smaller ring around the inside of the ritual circle. They alternated, lavender for peace and healing, green for health, luck, and success. 

Seven goblins walked the room with smudging sticks of what they identified as white sage and rosemary by the scent, and concluding they were doing the 30 minutes of cleansing. A large runic bath was brought in and placed in the center of the ritual circle by another group of seven who immediately began chanting over it in guttural Gobbledegook, more smudging sticks in their hands. Three healers came over as well, dropping a veritable bouquet of flowers into the bath. They added lavender (calm and relaxing), chamomile (good health), baby’s breath (innocence and purity), dandelion (overcoming hardship), edelweiss (courage and power), fennel (strength), and mullein (curse breaking). These were added in small sheaves of what appeared to be seven blossoms or stalks each. Elvux appeared to be one of the seven healers assigned to the room as she stepped over to Hadrian, and handed him a sheaf of white heather. They could see Hadrian asking what it was for, and they caught her speaking the one word to indicate its use: protection. Hadrian nodded and continued watching everything around him.

Once all the flowers blossoms or stalks had been added to the bath, the chanting seemed to pick up speed and water began filling the bath. Elvux led Hadrian behind a screen and handed him a nearly sheer white ritual robe and instructed him to remove all his clothing and replace it with the robe. Harry was blushing beet red when he stepped from behind the screen holding his heather in front of him carefully, the robe hid nothing. Lucius could see Harry’s aura flickering in agitation as he was led back to the runic bath. The wardmasters who had brought in the bath had completed their chanting and dispersed to join their brethren who had finished the cleansing. They were spaced evenly around the room each standing between two of the auras Lucius knew to be the wardstones, holding a chunk of rough zircon. Lucius could see power pulsing in the stones and determined they were there to amplify all the other magics being invoked. 

Elvux placed the final three golden candles in the spaces of the ritual bath to coalesce the energy around Hadrian as he entered the bath. The seven healers took up positions equally around the runic bath, each carrying a birch staff. Draco pointed out that Elvux’s staff looked different than the others, and Severus whispered to him that it was because hers was both birch for truth and new beginnings and spruce, to encourage Harry’s healing. 

They began. Elvux was clearly leading this cleansing ritual, as her scraping voice rang through the room commandingly. She was speaking Gobbledegook, so the wixen observers did not know exactly what was happening, but they all felt the power of the magic being called up in the space, even behind two layers of wardstones. Lucius and Draco had to “turn off” their aura sight, as the magic called up was so powerful the aura was nearly blinding. They could all feel the pulsing they had been warned of, and Narcissa was shocked as she had never felt magic to this degree before.

Elvux’s voice continued to ring out over the room, echoed by the other healers around her. They were banging their staves on the ground providing rhythm to their chanting. The wardmasters were holding their zircon, their warding chants a low drone underlying the more strident tones from the healers. As the first round of chanting stopped, a wave of power washed through the room, freezing the candle flames in place, and the immediate silence was startling after the chanting which had been going on for at least ten minutes. Elvux banged her staff on the floor three times and the candle flames on the three gold candles on the bath began flickering again. The water began draining from the bath into nowhere. The flowers clung to the ritual robe Hadrian was wearing, now plastered to his skin. Something in the magic must have affected him as well, because he wasn’t concerned that everyone in the room could clearly see his body, the robes and the flowers doing more to highlight his svelte figure than doing anything to disguise. 

This time the wardmasters began the chant. Power pulsed up through the ward stones creating a shimmer in the air, and when Lucius carefully activated his aura sight for a moment, he could see the lines of the matrix web being woven through the air and surrounding the ritual circle and all who were inside the wardstone ring. The zircons in each goblin hand were pulsing even faster as power was drawn from the wardstones and amplified through the zircon. The colors mixed and wove and anchored into the heart stone floor, a smaller rush of magic settling everyone in the viewing gallery. Lucius turned off his aura sight and refocused on the slight form of Hadrian, motionless in the runic bath. They could no longer feel the slight building and pulsing of the magic being wielded within the circle, but could see the healers waiting, poised, and silent. Whatever they were waiting for must have occurred, because, as one, all seven healers brought down their staves and a visible shock wave went through the room. Harry slowly began to float up from the runic bath, the lavender and chamomile falling to lie limp at the bottom of the bath. He floated horizontally in the center over the bath and surrounded by the healers. The wardmasters took seven steps forward. A quick peek in his aura sight showed Lucius that the net had shrunk in with the motion of the goblins, following the pull of the zircon stones they held. 

The healers began chanting again. A sprig of edelweiss and all but one of the dandelions floated away from Hadrian’s slowly rotating body. A strange grey mist began to coalesce from Hadrian’s body, forming symbols and patterns in the air none of them had ever seen at any time prior. Narcissa was clenching Severus’ hand in hers so hard her knuckles were white. They didn’t really know what was happening, and so could only sit and worry. As the chanting continued, the grey faded as more and more was pulled into the blossoms hovering over Harry’s spinning form. When all the grey had dissipated from the air, the blooms turned grey and fell to the bottom of the runic bath. Harry’s skin took on a healthier glow and faded to a paleness only seen in the Blacks and Malfoys. His hair went from unruly to tamable, soft black, to an inky black so dark it sucked in the light and appeared to flash with blue. His lips turned peach and soft, echoing the look of Lily, Severus thought privately. Overall the changes weren’t drastic, but were enough to have hidden any other attributes which were not immediately known as Potter.

The wardmasters took another seven steps forward as the chant shifted and Hadrian began spinning the opposite direction. Fennel rose from his body with a sprig of edelweiss and the process was repeated, this time with an orange mist. The magic pulsed, but there were no visible effects on Harry. The third time the wardmasters moved and the chant changed, Harry stopped spinning, but began rolling over in mid-air, and instead of the blossoms hovering over him, the baby’s breath and edelweiss spun around him in the opposite direction he was moving. When the mist emerged that time, it was white. A strange feeling swept through Lucius when the magic pulsed at the end of that portion, but he was too focused on what was still occurring to identify the feeling properly.

What they thought was the last shift caused Harry to roll over the opposite direction, gold mist pouring out of him and the mullein spinning around him. The pulse of power released at the end of that cycle was by far the largest and when Harry stopped moving, all of them could see his aura, no aura sight required. The emerald green was snapping and roiling around him, far more contained than the goblins had expected, but the family knew it had to be because of his amazing magical control. The colorful aura appeared to be spiking towards a spot of black, centered on Harry’s forehead, right over his scar.

They were unprepared for the movement and chanting to start again, having thought there would only be four sections to correspond to the four suppression rituals which had been placed on him. The wardmasters were now a scant few steps behind the healers, so close their shoulders were pressed to the ones of the goblins on either side. The chant was grating, guttural, and scraped along their nerves like blunted knives, never knowing when it might be sharp enough to cut. The sound was harsh, less rhythmic and after hearing the previous chanting for an hour, less smooth. The hits from the healers’ staves were disjointed, all of them landing on the ground at different times and different volumes. They were unsure what was happening, but could only continue to watch. Harry continued to levitate over the runic bath, but his height had noticeably dropped. If he began spinning, he was in danger of cracking his skull on the edge. But he did not spin, he simply hung there, suspended and unmoving. They watched as the bath morphed into an altar and Harry gently came to rest on top of it. All the remaining blooms twisted from his robe, which was now completely dry, and hung suspended individually in a line above him, one over each chakra. His Aura was being focused, driven towards a purpose and the roiling appearance it previously gave was smoothing into sharp arrows, jetting into the black. No mist was forthcoming, and the wixen could hear the sounds of strain in the goblin voices. The chanting continued far longer than any other segment of Harry’s cleansing, and the wixen were unsure if whatever they were trying to do was going to work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sanctimonia Vincet Semper = Purity Will Always Conquer


	15. Chapter 14 - Testing Bonds Pt. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Previously: A trip to Gringotts
> 
> In the chapter: The Conclusion of the trip to Gringotts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Make sure you read chapter 13 since I posted 2 chapters today!

###  _ Thursday, August 2, 1990 (Continued) _

The chanting finally stopped, wardmasters and healers nearly panting with exertion, sweat beading on their brows. Elvux huffed a sigh as she closed the circle and carefully vanished the blooms which had fallen at the end of the chanting to rest along Harry’s body rather than on the altar (or into the bath as the previous blossoms did). He was still not moving, so as the wardmasters filed out, and the healers removed all traces of the ritual performed, beginning the thirty minutes of cleansing, Elvux motioned to the viewing gallery and the goblins and wixen stepped out and over to the altar. 

“Return to Gornuk’s office, there is much to discuss,” Elvux instructed, her voice noticeably more hoarse than before the ritual work.

Severus gently lifted Harry into his arms, Narcissa fluttering by his side, and they all returned to Gornuk’s office where the conference table had been replaced with a comfortable sitting area, with a chaise where Severus laid Harry down. Draco immediately went to sit next to his brother. The paperwork was on a low table between the seats and individual trays popped up in front of each of them with food and drink. They spoke of inconsequential things, wanting Harry to be awake for all discussion about his situation. His eyes finally began to flutter and he groaned a bit as he stretched and sat up to look at them.

“So..am I fixed?” he asked carefully.

“As fixed as we can make you at this point in time Heir Potter,” Elvux responded brusquely. “We were unable to cleanse you of the horcrux,” She said with a sneer, unhappy at their inability to remove the foul taint from the young child.

“Oh,” Harry said somewhat distractedly. Food had popped up next to him during her explanation, and though he had done nothing, and in fact could not remember anything of the ritual once he had sat in the bath, he was extremely hungry.

“Eat, young one, we will discuss,” Elvux ordered her patient. Harry nodded and began to eat.

While he was eating the adults and the goblins discussed his upcoming course of treatment. A full magical purge via potion. It was likely to make him vomit, possibly give him diarrhea, and make him sweat out any and all magical residue that wasn’t his, whether from rituals or potions. Harry sarcastically thought that sounded like a swell twenty-four hours. He’d have to live in the shower. Many of his bones would be removed, goblin magic in place to steady him while he dealt with the required Skelegro. At least that would only be overnight, and Severus would give him a dreamless sleep. Then the muscle regenerative potions which he would have to take weekly for at least 3 months, and be re-evaluated after. And of course grand nutrition potions daily for three months, and regular nutrition potions for three months after that. That wasn’t anything unexpected. Severus had given him a course of the regular nutrition potions when he first came to the Malfoys, and they weren’t bad. Thankfully, he didn’t have to redo the potions for his eyes. Those had been drops he had to use morning and night for 6 months while wearing special glasses to adjust to his changing prescription, and they had  _ burned _ . He was certainly glad the purge wouldn’t change that. And since they couldn’t remove the Horcrux, there was nothing specific to do about that either. Though the goblins were discussing who created it, and providing what information they could to Lucius and Severus so they could find the others. The size of the one in Harry was far too small to be the first, and they theorized based on the principle that creating a horcrux split one’s soul in half, that Harry was the seventh piece of Thomas Riddle’s soul.

The topic of Harry’s health exhausted for the moment, they turned instead to his rings. 

“You will be given the lordship rings for the houses for which you are lord, but you will be unable to utilize the full power of the lordship until you are seventeen. The heir rings will be as they are.” Griphook explained, pushing the boxes in front of Hadrian. “As you have so many, you should put them on in the order of newest family to oldest lordships, then the same for heirships.”

Harry nodded, reaching for the Evans ring. He paused before he put it on. “If my mother was a descendant of Gryffindor, why did she not take that family name?”

“The Ancient and Most Imperial House of Gryffindor is patriarchal and may only pass to a male heir. As your mother was a woman, she was ineligible to take the title or the name and therefore began her own line. She and your father came in on her eighteenth birthday to finalize the Evans Family, thinking they would have multiple children to carry on each line they represented. Obviously that was not the case.” Griphook explained.

Harry nodded and picked up the box. Before he could slide the ring on his finger, Severs dropped to his knee in front of Harry, echoing what he had done with Draco. He slid the ring on Harry’s finger, and dropped a kiss on his forehead. They did not go through the titling since Harry was the last descendant, there was no one to offer the title, he simply already had it. Harry was then allowed to put on the rest of the rings by himself. He was instructed to place all the lordship rings on the middle finger of his right hand and all the heirship rings on the pinkie of his right hand. Once they were all on, the lordship rings merged to a braided band of yellow, white, and black gold with two rubies on either side of the large black onyx with the sign of the Hallows inlaid with a moonstone stag. The heir rings shifted to a black gold band in the shape of an ouroboros with the joined head and tail sitting next to a large emerald inlaid with the silver silhouette of a grim.

With that done, they were finally able to get on with other tasks. Namely, the unsealing of the Potter wills, getting the account documents for Harry’s numerous vaults, and performing the familiar and house elf rituals for Draco, and house elf ritual for Harry, and visiting the vaults for the family wands.

Griphook unsealed the wills and handed them to his new young lord to read. It was all completely as expected until Harry gasped and spun to glare accusingly at the adults. 

“Did you know he was innocent?” He spat out, angry that the adults he trusted so much could have let something like this go.

“Did we know who was innocent, Harry dear?” Narcissa asked placatingly. She had never seen her heart son’s eyes so hard.

“My godfather...my father? Sirius Black,” Harry returned. “He wasn’t the secret keeper, Peter Pettigrew was.

“Well, yes, we knew that. Peter was the one who told Voldemort where you were of course. We’ve talked about this before, Harry,” Lucius continued smoothly, though also somewhat confused. 

“But he’s in prison,” Harry stated with confusion.

“Yes, but not for betraying the Potters. You know, I don’t think you can be sentenced for breaking a fidelius ritual anyway,” Severus mused. “He went after Peter and blew up a street, killing twelve muggles. That’s what he’s in prison for,” Severus finished. 

“But the books said if someone was convicted of a crime their bonds could be broken. He’s still my godfather and my blood adopted father,” Harry wailed, showing his age in the face of this upheaval.

“So he is, young Lord Potter,” Griphook muttered. “And if he had been convicted, he could not be Lord Black. If that were the case, you would not be Heir Black, you would be Lord Black.”

“This reeks of Dumbledore’s involvement,” Gornuk commented. They had been plotting against the headmaster since before Harry had come to live with the Malfoys, perhaps this would help tarnish his name.

“Yes, it does,” Griphook answered. “We will begin work on the situation with your father at once, young Lord.”

“Keep me informed,” Harry responded, his training for formal situations, coming to the fore. “I wish for there to be as little delay as possible, Account Manager Griphook.”

“It will be done, Lord Potter,” Griphook replied with a bow.

Harry shook his head a bit as the conflicting names and titles bombarded his memory. “This is ridiculous,” he burst out. “My name is different and I’ve got so many titles I don’t know what to call myself!

“You are in a rather unique position, young Lord,” Griphook responded. “Though you are able to use any title singly or together however you please.”

“You said your name was different,” Narcissa said knowingly. “Are you concerned about your given name?”

“A little,” Harry replied, blushing a bit, and ducking his head.

“Well, if you like it, you may certainly use it, it is yours after all, though I would avoid using Potter-Black in company until such time as Dumbledore is made aware of your knowledge of your identity,” Narcissa continued. “It would not be difficult to say that Lily sent a letter to her sister telling her of your birth, and that you stumbled on the letter during your childhood. It would certainly explain you using Hadrian if you like it,” she concluded.

“... I think I do like it,” Hadrian said shyly. “Would you mind if I used it regularly?”

“Not at all,  _ Hadrian _ ,” Severus said pointedly. “Draco went through a ‘Draconis’ phase shortly before we got you. Of course he decided he would rather only use it formally, but if you like Hadrian, you should certainly use it.”

Lucius had been rather quiet throughout the conversation, and Hadrian looked at him carefully, concerned he would be upset at his choice, and not really sure why he felt it was important that  _ Lucius _ be on board with his choice.

“You should be called what you like,” Lucius began, seeing the begging tilt to bright green eyes, “and if that is Hadrian, so be it.”

“Ok then,” Hadrian continued, “I think I’ll just use Lord Potter if you have to use my title, but since we’re trying to keep it under wraps that I know, just use Hadrian James Potter whenever you can.”

They all nodded. 

“Now that’s settled, you need to make a statement that no information regarding the change in status to any of your houses should be sent out,” Griphook informed him. 

“Can I do it all together, or do I have to make a statement for each House?” Hadrian asked slightly concerned.

“You can do it all together,” Griphook confirmed.

Hadrian stood and held hands with his account goblin, as if shaking his hand as he said, “I, Hadrian James Potter-Black, do hereby authorize my bonded Account Manager, Griphook, to withhold all information regarding the change in status of all my accounts by my authority as Lord to the New-Blood House of Evans, the Honorable and Most Noble House of Peverell, the Honorable and Most Noble House of Potter, The Ancient and Most Imperial House of Gryffindor, and The Ancient and Most Imperial House of Merlin; and as Heir to the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black, the Noble and Most Ancient House of Gaunt, and the Ancient and Most Imperial House of Slytherin. So mote it be.” A flash of emerald light the same color as his aura flashed around them indicating the bank’s acceptance of his authority.

“Very good, Lord Potter,” Griphook said, pleased. “You will not need a key as your heir and lordship rings will allow you to access all your vaults. The rings will also be invisible to anyone who does not know that you wear them. And by ‘know’ I mean that you must tell them in order for them to know. Everyone here today knows as we were part of your acceptance, but no one else will.” Hadrian nodded, pleased that no one would find out about his lordships that way. 

“We have taken the liberty of providing you with one of our expandable pouches which has been locked to your magical signature. It will allow you to pull money from whichever vault you select based on which pocket you reach into when making a purchase. Your rings can also be used to make large purchases, but again, use that judiciously. You have also been provided with a Gringotts Black Card linked to all your accounts, denoting your status as one of our most high-profile clients. Simply use the card like a muggle credit card to make purchases, or show it to a teller at the desk to be immediately brought to my office...if you don’t floo in like you normally do for our meetings,” Griphook finished with a smile. 

“Now,” Griphook continued looking at all of them once more, “we shall return to the ritual room for the two house elf bondings and Heir Prince-Malfoy’s familiar bond.”

Once they arrived in the main ritual room for the second time that day, Gornuk led the family back to the viewing gallery. This would not be as dangerous a ritual, but the outside magics could interfere. Griphook led Harry to the center of the ritual circle first so he could go through his account documents while Draco was doing his rituals without being interrupted. 

The ritual circle had already been prepared and seven goblins were just finishing the required cleansing. Seven more goblins were preparing to smudge sticks of Mullein as this ritual was both breaking and casting a curse. Three runes had been drawn around the circle: īsaz (ᛁ) for reinforcing, ehwaz (ᛖ) for confirmation, and ōþila merkstave (ᛟ) for slavery. A triangle in the opposite direction of the runes was formed by blue candles representing healing, forgiveness, fidelity, and communication. A ring of three stones and three pieces of wood was laid just outside the joint triangles of runes and candles. Citrine for beginnings, Ash for trust, Hematite for grounding, Pine for peace, Zircon for amplification, and Spruce for healing.

Lucius called Dobby and Tansy, and both popped into the viewing gallery. Tansy was instructed to sit with Draco and Dobby was told to join Hadrian in the ritual circle. Once Dobby joined Hadrian in the circle, Griphook stepped forward with a gold ritual knife and made a small cut to both Hadrian and Dobby’s palms. They linked cut hands and began the ritual.

  
  


Hadrian spoke, “I, Hadrian James Potter-Black, request you, House Elf Dobby, to be my personal house elf. You will serve me, protect me, and keep my secrets for me individually, for my Houses, and my future family. Do you accept this request?”

“I, House Elf Dobby, bes accepting Hadrian James Potter-Black to bes my master,” Dobby said happily.

“I, Hadrian James Potter-Black, vow to you, House Elf Dobby, to accept your service as penance for the House Elves enslavement. I offer my magic to be your sustenance, to protect you from a traitor’s death. I offer this willingly in expectation of service, protection, and discretion. Do you accept my protection?”

“I, House Elf Dobby, bes accepting Hadrian James Potter-Black to bes my master. I bes serving Master Hadrian, protecting him, ands keepings his secretses for him, his Houses, ands his future families. Dobby bes thankful to serve.” 

He snapped his fingers and handed Hadrian a stem of agrimony, indicating his continuing thankfulness and gratitude. As soon as Hadrian accepted the flower, the runes flashed white and disappeared while Hadrian glowed blue indicating his responsibility to the little elf, and Dobby glowed yellow showing his loyalty to his new official master. With their ritual complete, they went to sit in the viewing area while Draco and Tansy came out to perform the ritual. 

While that was going on, Hadrian sat and looked through some of the documents in the Black portfolio Griphook provided. He was going through a vault listing when something strange caught his eye. During the break between Draco’s House Elf Bonding and familiar bonding, he patted Griphook’s shoulder to get his attention and pointed to the line in question. Griphook’s eyebrow rose, and Hadrian nodded. Griphook nodded back, indicating they would look for it when they went to the vaults to get the family wands once the rituals were complete.

When the bonding ritual was complete, Tansy popped out and back in bringing back Draco’s sooty black Great Horned Owl, Nox, with her. The set up for the ritual was the same layout as the House Elf Bonding. This time the runes were ansuz (ᚨ) for communication and blessings, īsaz (ᛁ) for reinforcing, and ehwaz (ᛖ) for confirmation. The candles were pink for friendship. The ring of stones and woods included: Opal for friendship, African blackwood for communication, Jasper for intuition and grounding, Birch for new beginnings, Turquoise for their relationship, and Oak for endurance. Gornuk handed Draco a piece of white sage to burn to cleanse his pet for the ritual. Before he could light it for him, Draco snapped his fingers to light the stick, surprising the goblin and eliciting a chuckle from the adults and Hadrian who were watching. Gornuk laughed, a grating, raspy sound, but snapped his fingers and the bouquet of flowers Narcissa had prepared earlier for this ritual floated over to Draco. It contained seven blooms which Draco laid out in a small circle around his pet. He had four for friendship: Arborvitae for everlasting, pear blossom for lasting , a yellow Rose and a pink tulip. He had three for the bond: Almond for the promise, yellow chrysanthemum marking Nox as his precious one, and a sunflower for longevity and loyalty. One he had laid out the flowers he began speaking.

“I, Draconis Lucius Malfoy, vow to sincerely trust you, Great Horned Owl Nox, as my familiar. I will be sincerely loyal to you as you are sincerely loyal to me. I offer my blood and magic in sacrifice to our bond. Nox, become my familiar!” he finished in a ringing tone. 

Nox lifted his wings and flew up to land on Draco’s left shoulder, his favorite spot to perch when Draco was near. He clicked his beak a few times and then bit down on the top of Draco’s ear. Draco winced and lifted a hand to rub the spot, drawing it away to find a few drops of blood staining his fingers. Just as he saw the blood, he and Nox flashed blue and a small symbol of Athena appeared behind his left ear. The symbol was a Y with the bottom stem crossed, and an upside down V crossing the top. It was rather small and unnoticeable, which Draco was thankful for, not having wanted a large portion of his skin marred, but willing to do so to keep Nox with him as long as he lived.

All those watching clapped when they saw the flash and subsequent grin crossing Draco’s face. Once the circle had been closed and the ritual remnants removed, they sent Dobby, Tansy, and Nox home and returned to Gornuk’s office to gather their things before heading down to the vaults. 

They went to the Malfoy vault first, since they knew exactly where the family wands were stored. Hadrian and Severus were forced to wait with the Griphook and Gornuk as they could not enter the vault. The three Malfoys emerged some twenty minutes later, Draco playing with a wand which he was sliding into and out of a holster on his wrist, and he lifted a pant leg to show Hadrian he had another holster on his calf holding a second wand. 

Once they were in the cart Griphook spoke, “the Gaunt, Gryffindor, and Merlin vaults are empty, so there will be no need to go to those. We can likely skip Evans as it would only have your mother’s wand, which would not be old enough to have lost it’s bond with her, and is therefore unsuitable as a potential practice wand. I am unaware if Slytherin or Peverell have anything, and of course Potter and Black are definite stops.”

“We will go to Potter, Black, Peverell and Slytherin, Griphook,” Lucius said.

“Very well,” Griphook replied. Gornuk activated the cart and they sped away.

Their first stop was the Potter vault. Hadrian went to enter, but before he did, turned to look at his account manager. 

“Would you please enter with me, Griphook?” Hadrian asked politely.

“I would be honored, Lord Potter,” Griphook responded. Hadrian placed his hand in the middle of the door. A pulse of magic shot out through the ring and the door melted away. The two stepped inside as Hadrian took a rather awed look around. There were piles of and piles of galleons, sickles, and knuts. Portraits, furniture, trunks full of who knows what, books, knick-knacks, and various other odds and ends accumulated in the 22 previous generations of House Potter. They wandered around, looking for wand holsters or wands, knowing Hadrian would be back many more times when it was not nearing dinner. They found the selection of wands and Hadrian ran his hands over them. He wasn’t exactly sure what he should feel, so he asked Griphook if he could ask Severus to join them as well or if the permission only extended to Goblins. He was told permission was acceptable, though Severus would have to be touching him to enter the door. Hadrian stepped out, granted Severus permission to enter the vault and took his hand to lead him in. 

“What seems to be the problem, Hadrian,” Severus asked as they stopped before the wands.

“I know I’m supposed to have a connection to a wand or wands that will be willing to work with me to begin my training, but I don’t know what it should feel like!” Hadrian burst out.

Severus chuckled, “If you had to ask someone to join you, none of these are a fit. You would have known immediately if they were.” He smiled at the boy. “I won’t say more as it’s more fun to experience, but I will accompany you to each vault if you would like.”

Hadrian nodded enthusiastically. They exited the vault, having found neither a wand, nor a holster to fit Hadrian. Back in the cart and a short ride later, they were at the Peverell vault. Hadrian repeated the process for entry, asking Griphook and Severus to accompany him and leading them into the vault. The Peverell vault was empty except for three stone plinths with small symbols etched into them. Hadrian stepped closer to take a look and saw the first on the left showed a straight vertical line, the second showed a circle, and the third a triangle. The floor had the three symbols overlaid, the circle inside the triangle and the line bisecting them through the center. The Deathly Hallows, Hadrian thought. No wonder he was the presumptive Master of Death. Well, he’d be on the lookout for the objects as clearly nothing else in the Peverell vault, if indeed there was anything else, would appear without those items. They exited the vault and returned to the cart, making their way to the Black vault.

Hadrian repeated the opening of the vault, taking both Griphook and Severus with him. He was immediately drawn to the wands and ran his hands over them carefully. As his hand moved over a black wood wand which had silver swirling around it and the wand left its place in the line and smacked into his hand, which he closed around the wand reflexively. 

“Oh!” He said, delighted. “I see what you mean, Severus!” He happily ran his hands over the remaining wands, but no other wand reacted. He turned his eyes to the cabinet beside the wands and saw a selection of holsters. He saw a lovely black dragonhide holster with a silver swirl pattern, which after a closer look, appeared to match the swirls on his temporary wand. He pulled the holster out, determined it was a calf holster, and put it on, placing the wand within. 

First objective met, he locked eyes with Griphook, reminding him of the line from the inventory. Griphook nodded and began a low chant. Severus looked at Hadrian curiously, but he just shook his head, waiting for whatever Griphook was doing to be finished. As soon as the chant was completed, a small gold cup could be seen making its way toward the goblin. It hovered in front of him and Hadrian reached out, feeling a strange  _ need _ to keep the cup close to him. Severus dropped a heavy hand on his shoulder, snapping him out of whatever the strange feeling was. He shook his head to rid himself of the lingering pull and instructed Griphook to lock that thing in a warded box, Heart Stone or Malijar’s gift if possible, and put it in the Merlin Vault where no one else would be able to access it. Dumbledore wouldn’t even know about that one since it was a magical inheritance. He would only know about the ones passed through blood. And without notice of the update of the keys, hopefully he wouldn’t try to get into the vaults anyway. They couldn’t be sure if Dumbledore knew Sirius had adopted him, but he was being cautious anyway. He didn’t want to tickle the sleeping dragon after all.

His second objective complete, they returned to the cart for the final descent to the Slytherin Vault. This time, now that he knew what he should expect, and not needing to find anything in particular, he entered the vault alone.

He heard a multitude of hissing voices calling out to him. He hissed back that he was sorry he couldn’t stay today, but he would be back in the future, and could they please direct him to the family wands. The hisses guided him and silenced so he could concentrate on the handful of wands in front of him. A strangely marbled looking wand jumped to his hand almost as soon as he held it out. It had woken at the voice of a Parselmouth and knew it wanted to be used again. It vibrated in greeting to the young wixen and guided him to a basilisk hide wrist holster in a poisonous green which nearly matched his eyes. He put on the holster, slid the wand inside, and returned to the cart.

The goblins returned them to the surface, and bowed them out via floo from Gornuk’s office so as to keep young Lord Hadrian Potter out of sight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Owl Familiar Bond Mark - [Minerva](https://www.deviantart.com/sapphiraruby/art/Minerva-842033560)


	16. Chapter 15 - Soul Bonds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Previously: The conclusion of the trip to Gringotts
> 
> In this chapter: Discussing Hadrian's Diagnostic, the Ring, and the Diary

###  _ Thursday, August 2, 1990 Evening _

When the boys went to bed after their long day at Gringotts, the adults convened in the family parlor to go over Hadrian’s inheritance test and full medical scan. They noticed on his inheritance test that his estimated power had jumped from 147 to 188. That was an enormous shift for a child to make in just a few hours. Most wixen only gained 50-100 power levels over the course of their lifetime, so to see a 31 level jump from a block was astounding. But they were less concerned over the sheer number of Houses Hadrian was now Lord or Heir to. Their true focus was his medical scan. Narcissa had received permission from Grand Master Healer Elvux to take a copy of the scan with her to study. The two males sat on either side of her on a comfortable sofa to review the shocking results.

“These all look rather normal for a newborn or toddler,” Narcissa commented as she read over the first entries for the second time that day. “Diaper rash, sore gums from teething, bumps and bruises learning to walk, this is all normal. The Potters, however you may feel about them my dear Severus, were clearly good parents.”

“I can see that, Cissa,” the potion master deadpanned.

“But here,” Lucius pointed to the entry on December 21, 1981, “a spike in  _ his _ magic. Not ambient magic,  _ his _ magic actually began circulating a year and a half before nearly all other wixen children. I have never heard of anyone’s magic beginning to circulate prior to the age of 2, and he’s a full six months younger!”

“I know,” Narcissa said. “I’ve seen two- and three-year-olds come in with their magic circulating due to an injury or life altering event which causes it to happen early, but never this young.”

“And through the blocks Albus placed,” Severus remarked.

“Indeed. But was it his power or his treatment which caused the early onset?” Lucius questioned his wife.

“Both,” Narcissa stated decisively. “He was blood adopted the day he was born. There were Lammas cast wards performed on his home when he was one day old. His  _ three _ parents performed the Blood Protection Ritual on August 2nd. That’s three powerful magics used within the first three days of his life. And then the Fidelius Ritual, for which he was present a few months after his first birthday with Dumbledore participating. Then he was impacted with magic from the Dark Lord a week later. The Dark Lord and Dumbledore were the two most powerful wixen alive at the time. Of course after that, there’s an immense upheaval, the death of his biological parents, and the spontaneous severance of his parental bonds. His third parent and godfather was imprisoned in Azkaban, and while the bond wasn’t severed, no magic can reach from Azkaban, so there was nothing little Hadrian could latch onto to enable him to resolve his broken bonds. As much as it pains me to say, the blocks placed by Dumbledore could have helped Hadrian in that the lower magical power probably muted the pain from his severed bonds, preventing him from losing his mind. Then a placement in a purely muggle environment where there was no ambient magic to help sustain him, nothing for him to draw on anywhere except what he already had. You can clearly see leading up to the solstice the higher number of incidents of diaper rash, cold, the beginnings of malnutrition, and other early child abuse and neglect indicators. It appears that the Solstice merely gave Hadrian the boost he needed to get his own magic circulating for his needed healing.” 

“I certainly hold no love for James Potter, but no magical child should go through what his child did. This merely confirms our speculations based on what we had seen at his residence,” Severus commented.

“I need to know what else he endured. Our account managers are requesting Goblin justice for the Dursleys, afraid the Wizengamot will do nothing under the leadership of Dumbledore. Our limited knowledge made me inclined to agree, but before we do, I want to know the full extent of his suffering so it may be heaped upon the heads of his tormentors,” Lucius said with a bloodthirsty glint in his eye. He  _ needed _ to avenge Hadrian, he could feel it in his core. 

Narcissa continued reading the diagnostic parchment. “All things considered, his toddler years were not too remarkable. Mainly bumps and bruises consistent with minor chores, but the occasional broken bones which show no sign of treatment other than his magic are concerning. No wonder Healer Elvux said we’d be vanishing bones…” she trailed off as she continued reading. 

“Merlin and Morgana!” Narcissa cursed. “He was being beaten!”

Severus yanked the parchment away from his lady love and began to scan it for himself. He found it when Harry was nearly five.

“He was beaten with a belt,” Severus whispered in horror. “And it looks like they started beating him in general as I see a large number of black eyes and bruises or abrasions consistent with shielding oneself from physical blows. Far more than could be accounted for with the occasional schoolyard bully or tussle between boys.”

This time it was Lucius grabbing the parchment out of the hands of his dearest friend to confirm for himself. His stomach dropped at the evidence of all that young Hadrian had suffered before they had been able to retrieve him. He growled as he read line after line showing injury from chores far beyond the usual capabilities of such a young child, malnourishment and lack of care, beatings and broken bones.

“We will give them over to the goblins at the earliest possible moment,” Lucius ground out, teeth gritted, a growl still humming in his throat. He was positively livid that a child, that  _ Hadrian _ had been treated in this manner. Their little Hadrian’s magic was clearly the only thing keeping him alive in that Merlin forsaken place. He was being pushed to protect Hadrian, right the wrongs done to him, seek vengeance against his foes. He wasn’t entirely sure why the feeling was so strong, but the boy was adorable, and he had become family. And nothing was more important to a Malfoy than family.

\----------

###  _ October 1990 _

Why were they doing this? Lucius and Severus had come to the middle of Merlin-knows-where to a small muggle town called Little Hangleton. It was rather cool and rainy, so their cloaks had been spelled for warmth and water repelling.

“Why are we doing this?” Severus voiced Lucius’ thought aloud.

“Because we want to gather the remainder of the Dark Lord’s horcruxes. No one can be allowed to find his method of immortality, and we cannot allow him to be resurrected as he was at the end,” Lucius responded curtly. He was not enjoying this outing in the slightest. The Goblins had provided a portkey to the Gaunt House when Lucius had noted its presence in Hadrian’s property portfolio. They were hoping to find a clue to another Horcrux.

They walked the small perimeter of the dilapidated property, and seeing and feeling nothing had decamped to the patch of dirt in front of the door. “The Gaunt House” was a misnomer as far as Lucius was concerned. This weathered, leaning, door-hanging-off-its-hinges  _ thing _ was most certainly not a house. It was a shack. 

“Can you see anything?” Severus questioned his friend before they touched the door.

“The Lord’s magic,” Lucius responded. It’s older than I would have expected, but it’s everywhere. Repelling charms, compulsions, attack spells, defensive wards, it’s got a little of everything as far as I can tell.”

“Lovely,” the dark haired main deadpanned. 

They both began twirling their wands, and flashes of different colored light accompanied their movements. Some wordless, some murmured, some wandless, some light, some grey, and some dark. They worked for well over an hour to be able to safely touch the door and enter the nearly falling apart shack. When they finally dismantled all the protections on the building itself, they opened the door and Lucius activated his aura sight again to ensure they could actually enter the house safely. There were more wards and spells present on the floor, in the walls, and hovering in the air as if waiting for the correct set of circumstances to activate. 

Both wands began moving again, and a further 45 minutes was required to make it safe to enter the extremely shabby room. Broken and rotting furniture, dust, and the various blown in detritus of many years had accumulated on the floor. They vanished the mess, Lucius seeing no magic in any of it, and had to hastily shield themselves as they had apparently missed a curse that required activation. That small mishap finished, Lucius activated his Aura sight again and located a faint glow in the middle of the floor. He cast all the detection charms he knew at the spot, setting off another missed curse, and they finally decided it was safe enough to proceed. Severus pulled out a muggle crowbar to begin prying up the few boards covering the section of floor Lucius indicated the glow was emanating from. Once the boards were up, they looked into the space underneath cautiously. The sight of an intricately carved box, untouched by the ravages of time greeted their tired eyes. Severus reached out and Lucius yanked his arm back unceremoniously. 

“It’s a compulsion, there’s another curse,” he said tersely. Severus nodded once in thanks.

A few more detection spells from the darker side of things had pinpointed the curse as one that would seep into the mind, changing one's thoughts of friends and family to enemies and rivals. A second layer after the first was dispelled was to make one particularly violent if questioned about anything surrounding the shack, changes in behavior, and some other unknown things they didn’t want to waste time trying to decipher. Once Lucius deemed the box clear, Severus braced himself against any further compulsions, ensuring his occlumency shields were raised to their maximum, and opened the box. A rough black stone sat in a rather ugly chunky gold setting, the sign of the Deathly Hallows just barely visible in the center of the stone, and only noticeable to them because of Hadrian and that anything with regard to the Peverells was emblazoned with it. 

“Do you think it’s  _ the _ stone?” Severus asked Lucius.

“I have no idea,” the blonde gentleman replied, “But Hadrian will know.”

Lucius removed the compulsion to put the ring on and Severus dispelled the Dark necrosis curse which had no counter once attached to living skin. They shuddered at the death awaiting anyone unfortunate enough to put the ring on without first removing that particular curse. Leaving the shack, they dropped the ring, box and all into a warded box made of Heart Stone which Griphook had provided, left the property, and apparated to Gringotts to have the horrid thing locked up in the Merlin Family Vault with Hufflepuff’s cup.

\----------

###  _ Saturday, December 27th, 1990 _

Having finished all his healing, except the final month of regular nutrition potions, Hadrian had been allowed down to the Merlin vault in November to inspect the ring Lucius and Severus brought back and confirmed that he thought it was in fact the Resurrection Stone. He could feel the Horcrux in the ring, but thought that perhaps the stone could be separated from it without causing a problem. Griphook, Gornuk, Narcissa, Severus, and Lucius were sceptical. So rather than risk anyone’s health or sanity, they decided to leave the Resurrection stone for now, it was not as if Hadrian had any of the other Hallows, so he still wouldn’t be able to see if there was anything in the Peverell Family Vault.

Having recently been in the presence of two horcruxes, the second and fourth as they had been told by the goblins, Hadrian was beginning to recognize the feeling. While he couldn’t feel the one in himself, it had been with him nearly as long as he could remember after all, he could feel the magic radiating from the others, the way it moved and interacted with any magic coming into contact with itself. That’s why he was shocked to feel something very similar, though stronger than even the ring, when walking by an apparently empty portion of the Malfoy Library one sunny afternoon. 

“LUCIUS!” he yelled as he ran through the manor, looking for the blonde lord. “LUCIUS!”

He ran for the man’s study, knowing the high powered silencing wards would deafen the man to all external sounds. He knew he was lucky Narcissa hadn’t heard or seen him running pell mell through the manor. He paused for a few moments to gather himself and catch his breath before knocking on the door.”

“Enter,” Lucius’ voice was heard from inside.

“Lucius,” Hadrian said as he entered the rather masculine room. Leather chairs and a sofa sat around a heavy ebony table, and Lucius’ ebony desk inlaid with silver and lighter woods to form the Malfoy crest took a place of pride with an imposing ebony and leather chair across from an immaculately tiled fireplace with onyx tiles and silver fire irons. The smell was all male and Harry nearly staggered at the force of Lucius’ accumulated magic in the room.

“What can I help you with, Hadrian,” Lucius asked, rising and gesturing Hadrian to a comfortable leather armchair across from the massive desk.

“I felt something in the library,” Hadrian stated baldly. 

“Felt something?” Lucius parroted, unsure what to make of the statement.

“Like the ring or the cup, only stronger,” Hadrian indicated his topic.

An eloquent eyebrow rose at his pronouncement.

“You are certain?” Lucius confirmed.

“Yes,” the small raven replied.

“Let me call Severus,” Lucius began, “and we shall go and see what you felt.”

Hadrian nodded, and Lucius stepped over to the fireplace and knelt to make his call. They were lucky it was the winter holidays for Hogwarts and Severus was at his home in Spinner's End. He hated it there, but kept it as his legacy from his mother. Narcissa was partial to one of the Prince properties, a lovely little chalet in France, but they rarely got to go there, so he mainly stayed at Malfoy Manor when he wasn’t at home or at Hogwarts. He had returned to Spinner’s End just two days prior in preparation for a potions ingredient gathering trip. He was leaving the next day, so it really was good timing.

“Severus Prince, Spinner's End,” Lucius called out and then stuck his head in the flames. Hadrian couldn’t hear any of the conversation, but soon enough Lucius was standing up and stepping back to allow Severus entry to his study.

Severus stepped out of the fireplace and waved his wand to remove the ashes and soot before asking Hadrian to explain the feeling again.

“It felt just the cup and ring, only stronger. I think the goblins are right about it being half every time. If the ring was the second, what I felt has to be the first. The power is so much larger than any of the others, I nearly couldn’t resist it!” Hadrian said in a rush.

Severus looked over at Lucius, “Did the Dark Lord ever give you anything to protect for him?”

“No,” Lucius responded. “But that’s not to say he didn’t ask my father to keep something, and I just never knew about it.”

“Your father was one of his followers as well?” Hadrian asked, soaking up the information about Thomas Marvolo Riddle, the Dark Lord Voldemort, as he always did. 

“He was indeed,” Lucius replied as they walked the halls of the manor, returning to the library. “They were in school together at Hogwarts, and such grand ideals Thomas had. Magical orphanages, rights for sentient magical creatures, tightening the Statute of Secrecy to protect our world from muggles, enforced wixen tradition in Hogwarts, the ability to practice any type of magic without fear of persecution or prosecution.”

Hadrian had heard much of Riddle’s ideals and thought them very good. He had seen first-hand what muggles would do when presenting with something outside their idea of “normal.” He knew his situation was likely extreme, but human nature was human nature and when a human was presented with something it didn’t understand, it tried to remove the thing. Hadrian didn’t want any other children to go through what he had. And being a light-grey-dark magically gifted wixen himself, Hadrian wanted to be able to practice all types of magic. He’d never be able to use his gifts otherwise!

They had returned to the library and Hadrian was guiding them along a spot on the back wall which was apparently empty. Severus and Lucius couldn’t feel anything odd, so Lucius activated his aura sight and slapped his hands over his eyes almost immediately at the brightness of the magic concealing...whatever it was concealing. Severus reached into his robe and immediately withdrew a headache relief potion, unstoppered it, and passed the vial to his friend. Lucius knocked it back like a muggle shot, and groaned in relief.

“Thank you, Severus,” he said.

“I made the potion taste better,  _ remember _ ? You didn’t have to drink it like it would kill you if you tasted it,” Severus said with a fake sneer. “I didn’t work those potions over to be stronger and taste better for my Grand Mastery so blithering idiots like you would continue to take them like poison. They work even better if you just drink them normally you know.”

Lucius chucked, “Of course, my friend, however could I have forgotten.”

Hadrian rolled his eyes fondly as soon as the two men started bickering, remembering Severus working non-stop during vacations to finish his Grand Mastery. Hadrian knew for his first project Severus had created a set of standardized pregnancy support potions-similar to the ones he made for Narcissa-for those who had trouble getting and staying pregnant. He had created a concussion relief potion along with improving the quality and performance of a number of other existing healing potions while also improving the taste which led to better and more consistent usage as his second project. For his Mastery project, he had created the Wolfsbane potion, which allowed a werewolf to keep its human mind during the transformation. He built on that project for his Grand Mastery, perfecting the formula which made the werewolf become a general animagus form. This allowed for wolves to be free from the  _ forced  _ transformation, and though many still elected to transform at the full moon, it was no longer painful or debilitating. He had just finished his projects the previous year, submitted them this past spring, received his Grand Master’s Commendation at Yule, and was currently waiting to announce his place as Britain’s Grand Master Potioneer for Hadrian and Draco’s first year at Hogwarts.

Lucius was shaking his head as he  _ very carefull _ y reactivated his aura sight to view the wards over the empty area. He dispelled the ones he could, called out the ones he recognized but Severus would need to dispel, and tried to give any information he could for the ones he didn’t recognize. Once he finished his part, he and Severus cast every detection spell they knew at the empty space which was starting to shimmer now that some of the wards had been removed. Once Severus cast all the counters he could, and Lucius could only see a few ward lines remaining, Hadrian stepped forward, gently pushing the two men out of the way, laid his hands on the space, focused his magic and pushed. Lucius watched as the remaining wards fell like blocks pushed over by a toddler. As they fell a section of the library shelving was revealed. 

Hadrian stepped forward unerringly and pointed, “It’s that one.” 

He was indicating a smallish, black leather book that looked like a diary. Lucius pulled Hadrian back out of the way and checked with his aura sight. Seeing nothing, he stepped back to allow Severus to cast his detection charms. Severus cast, and finding nothing, stepped back in turn to allow Hadrian to retrieve the book. Hadrian shuddered as he reached out, feeling the magic of the book reaching out to him. He heard Severus through a long tunnel, calling for Lucius to summon the warded box for the book. He assumed Lucius had indeed summoned the box, for as his arm dropped holding the book, it bumped against something, causing him to release his grip. 

Hadrian shook his head trying to get rid of the feel of the magic that had washed over him as he handled the book, and sent a grateful look at both men when Lucius snapped the box shut as soon as his hand was clear. The goblin warders had done their job well and no magic escaped the small black box. They all trekked back to Lucius’ office and he stuck his head in the fire a second time, this time speaking to Gornuk about delivering another horcrux to the Merlin Family Vault. He pulled his head out, grabbed the box, and went through fire, coming back not 10 minutes later saying Griphook had deposited it in the vault.


	17. Chapter 16 - Living Bonds

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Previously: Discussing Hadrian's Diagnostic, the Ring, and the Diary
> 
> In this chapter: Shopping with the Malfoys and a return to the Dursleys
> 
> Just a reminder: §Parseltongue§

###  _ Saturday, June 15, 1991 _

Winter and spring passed quietly away, Draco and Hadrian working on their lessons, their apprenticeships, and finalizing their plans for handling Hogwarts and Dumbledore. They had been involved with the monthly meetings at Gringotts since Hadrian’s arrival at the manor, and they were finally ready to begin enacting some of their plans. They had not been able to get anything moving on freeing Sirius as they currently had no proof and the trial transcripts were suspiciously missing, not to mention there was no record of a trial occurring in the logs. But all that was far from from the two boys’ minds as Draco’s eleventh birthday had come and he had received his Hogwarts letter. Today they were going school shopping to get both their things, though Hadrian would likely have to go again with whoever Dumbledore would send to retrieve him. 

Hadrian was returning to the Dursleys next week and he was not looking forward to it. He knew that the doll version of him would not be enough to fool wizards, and they had to get his active magic built up in the residence as the magic he forced into the doll every year would not be sufficient if Dumbledore sent anyone with any degree of magical sense. He understood all this, and had agreed to the plan, but he was sad to be leaving the Malfoys and would miss his brother while being stuck back at Privet Drive from Dudley’s birthday on the 23rd until he left for school on September 1st.

But that depressing day was still a week away and the Malfoys had decided they would go to France to shop at the Place Cachée. Narcissa had raved about Maison Capenoir and their wonderful French fashions, and Hadrian was interested in seeing their work and possibly getting ideas for his own. He had made a number of things for himself, Severus, and the Malfoys during his time with them, but one could never have too many ideas. 

Lucius had arranged a portkey to bring them to Place Cachée. Hadrian did not like the feeling of portkeys, but he managed to keep his feet when they landed. He had wondered if it would feel different from Diagon Alley, but was somewhat disappointed to see that it was all very similar, though with an obvious French flair. While the architecture was cleaner and more grand, he thought Diagon Alley with it’s oddly-shaped storefronts, leaning buildings, and the tall white marble of Gringotts far more magical looking.

Their first stop was Mercier’s for the boys’ trunks. Draco had selected a five compartment trunk which had two compartments for clothes, a temperature controlled compartment for potions ingredients and supplies, a library compartment with preservation and sorting charms capable of holding five hundred books, and a compartment full of shelves, chests with drawers, and various other sorting methods for his other miscellaneous supplies like parchment, quills, telescope and the like. He had it done up in Malfoy blue with his initials in silver, with silver trimmings and alternating sapphire and diamond compartment buttons. He could tap a specific spot by the lock with his finger or his wand to shrink or enlarge the trunk, and it had a convenient retractable handle with inset wheels like the muggle rolling luggage, to make it easier to pull if they needed to keep the trunk at full size. Each compartment was password protected, and the trunk lock itself was protected so one had to know both the compartment password as well as the trunk password to gain entry.

Hadrian’s took a bit more time as they had decided that he would live in his trunk which would be placed inside the cupboard under the stairs for his time at the Dursleys. Therefore he had selected an 8 compartment trunk which he elected to keep the standard black and silver so as not to draw too much attention. It did have silver-set jewel buttons, but each was a different jewel. The biggest difference in features between the two trunks was that Hadrian’s had a compartment which he could step into and down a set of stairs into a six room flat which boasted a living room, kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, potions lab, and office. Within each of these rooms was a fixture linked to the corresponding compartments of the trunk so he would not have to exit the trunk flat to access other items stored within it. 

He had the same five compartments and other features Draco had selected though all of his compartments were larger than Draco’s since his trunk was meant to be lived in. His two closet compartments were linked to the sapphire and aquamarine buttons, potions storage to the emerald button, his two thousand book library compartment to the ruby button, and his miscellaneous school supplies to the onyx button. In addition to those five compartments he had his flat compartment linked to the diamond button, a sectioned compartment with adjustable temperature controls in each section for kitchen and food storage which was the amethyst button, and a general household storage compartment for his linens, like bed sheets and bath towels, and whatever other items he might have a need to store linked to the citrine button. 

One entered the flat into the living room which was an open shared space with the kitchen. The living room was equipped with a fireplace which could be connected to ten specific floo locations, password protected of course, and anyone calling or visiting him would need the password as well. The kitchen had standard wizarding appliances like an oven and cooktop, as well as what he thought might be the wizarding equivalent to a muggle microwave. It also had a pantry with an amethyst knob to access the food storage compartment. In the middle of the shared space a hallway branched off on both sides, with the bedroom and bathroom to the right on either side of the hallway, and the potions lab and office to the left. The bedroom included a walk in closet with two different pull handles-one sapphire and one aquamarine to select which closet to open. The bath had a linen closet with a citrine lever style handle for the miscellaneous storage. His potions lab was equipped with extensive ventilation and protection charms and had a storage closet with emerald handles to access his ingredients and equipment. The office was interesting to Hadrian as one opened a ruby twist handle to enter the office which was really the entire library compartment. Within the room a comfortably sized desk could be linked to specific shelves or drawers within the general school supplies compartment for things like parchment, ink, and quills, but there was also a small closet with an onyx lever handle which would open to the entire storage compartment. 

Neither boy set their passwords while they were shopping, opting to set them back at home where they could ensure their privacy. They both also decided on feather-light, undetectably extended, messenger bags in emerald green for Draco and sapphire blue for Hadrian. The bags had two large pockets that could hold 20 books each, as well as two narrow pockets under the flap which would hold four bottles of ink and eight standard size quills. They wanted to be able to carry their things around safely, but also not injure their backs as both of them were still rather small. Lord Malfoy nodded approvingly at their trunk and bag choices and paid the clerk. They all left the shop very pleased with the selections.

After the trunk shop, they went to Monsieur Sanfin Chaudrons for their new cauldrons, the ones they purchased so long ago for Severus’ tutoring having long since been replaced with larger and better materials. Though they were required to have pewter for school, they also purchased a small selection of gold, silver, copper, iron, and crystal for various uses along with their requisite accoutrements like stirring rods, ladles, and a large set each of glass and crystal phials. Finishing with cauldrons quickly, they headed off to Dr. Aziz Branchiflore for their ingredients. Severus had provided both boys a very specific list, and though he was on an ingredients trip himself, had trained them very meticulously in the selection of fresh or appropriately stored, dried, or otherwise prepared ingredients. They were certain to have the best ingredients of all their yearmates. They also purchased dragonhide gloves, steel and silver knives, and several cutting boards of wood, bone, and various metals. Draco had found a passion for potions that was quickly coming to rival Severus’ and while Hadrian was not enamoured of potions, he was good at it, and knew that potions skill could come in handy in the future and so had resolved to have all the equipment and tools he might need to produce a large number of many types of potions.

They next went to Cosme Acajor for wands, knowing Hadrian at least would need to visit Ollivander’s with whomever the school sent as his introductory representative, but thought perhaps a backup would be useful. Draco had decided to take a look as well, though he thought it would be grand to have a French wand when everyone else would have Ollivander’s wands. They were each handed two clear crystals which slowly pulsed, sucking in magic, and continued pulsing for several minutes before returning to their starting clear coloration. The attendant looked quite abashed at seeing the clear color return, never having had two individuals come in at the same time which they were unable to match with a wand, but with many apologies for being unable to assist, bowed them out of the shop politely as the family took their leave.

They paused for lunch at Griffon Buveur, which Lucius said was similar to the Leaky Cauldron, only cleaner...and more French. After lunch they visited K. Rammelle’s Enchantée for pastry, and stocked both boys with a selection of sweets to take with them to school. The Malfoys promised both they would buy sweets at home for them to take as well, so neither was terribly put out by all the unfamiliar candy, but simply happy to have something new to try.

They made a very brief stop in Luna and Aurore Jumelle for their astronomy supplies, where both boys decided to get working models of the solar system along with various star charts and their required telescopes. Lucius actually bought a rather large telescope as well saying he had enjoyed astronomy in his youth and was interested in picking it back up again at the manor for something to do while the boys were at boarding school.

Their next stop was Maison Capenoir for new robes. Hadrian was delighted with all the options, and thought he thought he might be able to make them even better, bought enough to nearly fill one of his closet compartments without even blinking. He was ecstatic to see they made nearly everything in silk or with silk linings as he loathed the wool present in so many of England’s designs. While he liked linen, tweed, and twill, he loved the feeling of silk against his skin. And if it got too cold, he could always embroider charms for warmth into his things, Draco’s too if necessary. The shop was excited to be making Hogwarts robes as so few English visited France for school shopping. Recognizing the light of desire in both boys’ eyes, the Malfoys were more than happy to have their school robes made in much finer fabric than anything that would be available for school robes at home. They had gotten the standard uniform requirements, but Narcissa had decided they also needed specialized cloaks which would change the inner lining color to match their sorted house. They were excited by this, not having been looking forward to the unrelieved black, but at least they’d have a bit of color.

After their somewhat lengthy sojourn into French fashion, they wandered into the Animalerie thinking perhaps Hadrian would find an animal which would perhaps become his familiar, but he felt nothing and they left the shop only buying owl treats for Draco’s owl, Nox. They next visited Gaston McAaron, a rather well known quidditch shop, both boys independently deciding to buy the other a Nimbus 2000 for their birthdays. When they both received their packages, handed them over to the other, and unwrapped them to realize they had both gotten the same broom, the small group began laughing at their parallel thinking. 

Exiting the shop with giggles on the part of the boys and well disguised chuckles from the two adults, they made their way to their final stop in France, the boutique d'écriture. Draco and Hadrian had not expected to find shopping for parchment, quills, and ink so entertaining, but they each found a number of different colors of ink (Harry had at least one bottle to match every jewel color on his trunk, and sometimes two or three), and a couple of specialty inks like invisible, color changing, and a couple of bottles of rather expensive metal inks which could only be used on special black paper, which of course they also purchased. All four of them fell in love with a set of five magical peacock feather quills, specially spells to write in a variegated form of the colors in the feathers, including the slight gold, silver, or bronze shimmer. Draco and Hadrian got a set of spelled note-taking quills, as well as some rather basic quills. Then Draco spotted a set of white peacock quills which he and Lucius just had to have a set of, while Hadrian found a very expensive set of three phoenix feather quills, one gold and red, one black and green, and one purple, blue, and silver. He dipped into his own money to purchase them, he had to have them. Lucius was subtly pouting about this, having wanted to buy them for the boy, but unable to say anything in the face of Hadrian’s awe over having light, dark, and extremely rare water phoenix quills. He very carefully took the wrapped crystalline box the quills were nestled in and placed them lovingly in a drawer of the storage compartment all by themselves. He didn’t want anything to happen to them. Narcissa had selected a very serviceable parchment for their school work, and Lucius had handled the choice of correspondence parchment and stationary. 

Once they paid for their items and left the boutique, they returned to the apparition and portkey area and Lucius activated the portkey to take them home. Both boys spent the evening unwrapping and organizing their new things with the help of their elves. Dobby especially was quite pleased with Hadrian’s trunk and commandeered a spot on the floor under a set of shelves in the storage compartment to be his nest and raided the Malfoy linens for a couple of sheets, blankets, and pillows to make his chosen spot his home. 

Hadrian had grabbed Draco and wandered through the unused parts of the manor selecting furniture for his trunk’s flat and was quite pleased with his wrought iron four poster bed with its gem encrusted flowers leaves with rails for both sheet and velvet curtains. He had immediately instructed Dobby to find him sparkling white and silver sheer for his inner curtains and silver spangled blue velvet for his outer curtains. He also found a small round dining table with four chairs in a pale wood, an extremely comfortable set of a sofa, chair, and chaise in a silvery grey with deep blue pillows which reminded him of the furniture in his room in the manor, and another pale wood coffee table for the kitchen and living room. Then he located a small darker wood table which nearly matched the included desk in his library cum office and a couple of wingback chairs to create a small sitting area. Dobby had made himself useful selecting silk sheets in silver and blue for his master’s bedroom, and a larger selection of jewel tones towels, washcloths, and mats for the bath. Hadrian looked through his trunk flat and all the nice things he had and was well pleased with the day.

\----------

###  _ Saturday, June 22, 1991 _

A week later, nearing midnight, Lucius, Severus, and Hadrian made their way down Privet Drive and towards Number 4. Hadrian had his new trunk shrunk in his pocket. Over the course of the week a few more items had made their way into the trunk-the blanket he had brought with him from the Dursleys, the plush stag, grim, and wolf, some family jewelry from his vaults, as well as new from another shopping excursion with Draco and Narcissa, and a wizarding photo album of their little family. Narcissa had also contacted various friends and acquaintances requesting pictures of Sirius for the young “Mr. Rigel Black” and had wound up with quite a few of Hadrian’s second father/godfather as well as his biological parents, and the werewolf Remus Lupin. Hadrian had been told he was a werewolf by Lucius and Severus, Lucius who had known due to Greyback having been the one to bite Remus, and Severus by retelling the horrid events of his fifth year run in with the Marauders which culminated in James saving his life. Hadrian had appreciated these stories and small glimpses of his parents and their friends, and while he didn’t like how they had treated Severus, who he viewed as a father, he did appreciate them sharing their memories to give him a clearer picture of more of his family.

They were all rather dejected as the prepared to leave Hadrian with the Dursleys until Hogwarts and Severus was hovering over him like a worried mother hen, checking to be sure he had everything he needed, and though he would deny it, making sure he got one last hug from the small boy. His potions regimen after his eleventh birthday had done wonders for filling him out and removing the effects of malnutrition and the blocks, but he was still very petite and his build was willowy rather than somewhat lanky or bulky like most other boys his age. 

They snuck into the Dursley residence, Lucius unlocking the cupboard under the stairs and pulling out the doll Harry to be refilled with Hadrian’s magic. This time, however it would take much less magic since it only needed to function until September 1st. They completed the magical transfer the same way they had every year since they had removed Hadrian from the horrid muggle’s care, and placed his enlarged trunk in the cupboard. It had been further improved with the addition of muggle repelling and notice-me-not charms, as well as Lucius placing wards on the trunk to prevent any magic he did from being detected by the ministry. It was a variation on the ward which existed on Malfoy Manor, but was made for movable locations. Harry had kept both his family wands for practice and backups and Lucius had bought him a specialized holster to wear on his left arm which held both wands for easy access. Once he got his “official” wand, he could get another holster for his right arm, but until then, he had the Slytherin wand on his right arm and the Black wand on his left calf like usual.

The only downside to this transition was that Lucius would need to take Doll Harry to the goblins to be updated and wouldn’t be able to bring it back until the following evening. They had discussed taking it to the goblins before repowering it, but that was not an option. Hadrian would have to handle one day at his relative’s mercy. Hadrian thought it was best for that day to be Dudley’s birthday as they always took Dudley somewhere with a friend for the day and he would only be required to make breakfast and would otherwise be locked in the cupboard or sent to Mrs. Figg. Severus and Lucius had seen the wisdom of that, and promised they’d check on him tomorrow. Severus reminded Hadrian that he had a full stock of healing potions in his trunk if they were needed, and he would bring him another selection of them the following evening just in case. All of their hearts were hurting at the thought of separation, Draco and Hadrian had spent the entirety of the previous day cuddled up together in the cozy corner of their playroom, snuggling their stuffed animals and each other while wrapped up in blankets talking and soaking up the feeling of each other before their separation. Severus was very nearly shocked at himself for how much emotion was coursing through him at the thought of Hadrian being back with his horrid Aunt, and his final hug before leaving was rib-crushing. Hadrian didn’t mind though, and snuggled into the Potion Master’s robes with a sniffle. Lucius was a bit more stoic, but also held Hadrian in a firm embrace, admonishing him to be careful and floo call or use the communication mirror which had been enlarged and hung on the living room wall in the trunk if he needed assistance. Hadrian’s tears were falling silently as he watched the two men depart through the Dursley’s living room window. He went to the cupboard, placed his hand on the lock and hissed out  _ §Unlock§ _ to gain entry to the trunk and pressed the diamond button and hissed  _ §I want to go home§ _ to activate the flat compartment. He lifted the lid and descended the stairs to curl up in his beautiful bed with soft covers and cry, completely forgetting to summon Dobby to him in his growing grief.


	18. Chapter 17 - Familiar Bonds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Previously: Shopping with the Malfoys and a return to the Dursleys
> 
> In this chapter: The zoo, Hadrian's Hogwarts Letter, and Diagon Alley shopping

###  _ Sunday, June 23, 1991 _

Sigh.

Today was Dudley’s birthday. Hadrian had never quite gotten out of the habit of waking with the sun which had been nearly beaten into him during his previous time in this house, so even though his windows were fake and spelled to reflect the weather outside, he woke with the sun. He got up, completed his morning ablutions, and exited his trunk to await his Aunt “waking” him and releasing him from the cupboard.

He was drifting in his mindscape, courtesy of Severus’ dedicated instruction in Occlumency over the previous two years in preparation for contact with Dumbledore, when Petunia’s shrill voice rent the quiet morning stillness and harsh knocks on the cupboard door pulled him out of his thoughts. 

“Up! Up! Get Up! It’s Dudder’s special day! GET UP!” she screeched, a quiet click indicated the cupboard had been unlocked.

Hadrian was immediately back in his old head space and in a quiet voice said, “Yes, Aunt Petunia.”

He made his way to the kitchen and began pulling ingredients out of the refrigerator so he could start breakfast. He had continued cooking while at the Malfoys and his breakfast repertoire had increased. He decided on simple french toast and crepes with a chocolaty filling, knowing Dudley would enjoy the sweet options, bacon, eggs, and toast for Uncle Vernon’s  _ normal  _ sensibilities, and a mixed fruit salad for Aunt Petunia so there was at least something healthy on the table. He poured orange juice, prepared coffee and tea, and had steaming plates of food waiting on the table when Dudley and Vernon came downstairs. 

Vernon grunted, “Comb your hair!” at Hadrian. He knew it was Vernon’s preferred complaint when he could find nothing else to belittle and smiled to himself. 

Hadrian had grabbed a few bites of egg, a piece of bacon and one of the crepes while cooking since no one else was in the kitchen, so when Petunia handed him a small bowl of fruit and ordered him over to his stool in the corner to eat his breakfast he made no complaint. He let the sound of the family having breakfast and Dudley whining about his number of presents wash over him until he heard his name and their continuing conversation about what to do with him that day since Mrs. Figg had broken her leg the previous week. Hadrian dearly wanted to speak up and say he would stay in the cupboard, but knew speaking would only earn him a beating. So he sat quietly, waiting, while they determined he would not be allowed to stay home (“Blow up the house, he would,” Vernon had said with a sneer), but would go with them and Piers Polkiss to the zoo. He dutifully washed up the dishes after he finished his fruit, and dressed in Dudley’s old clothes for the outing, casting a subtle wandless notice-me-not which would have everyone but his family overlooking his presence. 

Dudley and Piers tried to get him in trouble during the car ride, but Hadrian just ignored them and they finally left him alone, not being able to make him angry. When they arrived at the zoo, Dudley’s eyes locked on an ice cream cart and Vernon lumbered away to buy the family ice cream. He did not purchase anything for Hadrian, and the charm Hadrian had used ensured no one really knew he was there. Hadrian hung back a bit, reached into his pocket for his Gringotts pouch and pulled out a couple muggle bills to buy himself some water as the day was already getting warm. He followed the Dursleys in and around the animal exhibits and mainly tried to stay out of the way. 

That is until they reached the reptile house. He could hear the hissing from the snakes as soon as they entered the space. Most were hissing about unimportant things like the next mouse, or the temperature of their heat lamps, and a few were sleeping. Hadrian made his way slowly around the room, enjoying the air conditioning and lack of people in the building. He felt a small tug and stopped at a particularly pretty bright blue snake with a white stripe around the lighter blue scales of its underside, and read the card affixed to the wall:

**White Lipped Viper**

_ Trimeresurus albolabris insularis _

Location: Komodo Island, Indonesia

Sex: Male

Size: Up to 60 cm 

Lifespan: 9-10 years

Eats: Mice and other small mammals

Small Lizards, Birds, or Frogs

Venom: Hemorrhagic

Causes pain, swelling, necrosis of the flesh,

and severe internal and external bleeding

Rarely fatal

**DO NOT TAP ON GLASS**

Hadrian looked at the snake and hissed out,  _ §You are beautiful.§ _

The snake lifted it’s head,  _ §You speak!§ _

_ §I do§  _ the boy replied.

_ §I have never met another speaker before§  _ The small snake sounded pleased.

_ §There is only one other that I have heard of, and he is currently...indisposed§ _ Hadrian continued speaking with the smallish snake.  _ §You are a pretty shade of blue. It’s very bright.§ _

_ §Thank you, Speaker.§ _ The snake preened in obvious happiness.

Dudley had grown tired of all the sleeping and unmoving snakes, so the small snake moving around in front of Harry caught his eye. He ran over and shoved Harry out of the way, pushing the slighter boy over in his haste.

Hadrian glared at his cousin, and the snake looked at him with disgust. He looked towards Hadrian and hissed  _ §Is he always so rude as to interrupt others’ conversations?§ _

_ §Yes, he usually is§  _ Hadrian said with a small chuckle.

Piers and Dudley dramatically paled when Harry started hissing at the snake.

“Mummy!” Dudley ran off towards his parents, yelling. Vernon lumbered over and yanked Harry up by the arm, leaving bruises on his pale flesh. Hadrian wanted to glare at him or lash out with his magic, but knew better.

“Didn’t I tell you nothing  _ freaky _ , Boy?!?” Vernon whisper-shouted.

_ §You are magical. Remove the glass from my enclosure and I will return with you and help keep you safe, young speaker§  _ The small snake hissed over Vernon’s continued ranting.

Hadrian concentrated and pushed his magic out of his body. It was difficult with nothing to touch or a wand to focus the magic, but he managed it. Just as Vernon was shaking him around, Hadrian’s anger spiked and the glass vanished. The snake slithered down to the floor and up Hadrian’s leg. When Vernon saw the snake he dropped Harry’s arm and stumbled back.

“Just so, Uncle,” Hadrian stated coolly, drawing on all his pureblood mannerisms. “I will wait with the car.” Hadrian turned on his heel and left the reptile house for the parking lot.

_ §Ok, I read the plaque next to your enclosure, so I know you’re a White Lipped Viper from Indonesia, that you eat small mammals, birds, lizards, and frogs, and are venomous, though your venom isn’t often fatal and will grow to be approximated 60 cm in length. Is there anything else specific I need to know about you or how to care for you?§ _

_ §I am actually a magical White Lipped Island Viper from a small magical area on Komodo Island, that is why you see me as blue. My inherent magic hides the vibrancy of my coloration, making it far more muted and greenish to non-magicals. I will keep the white stripe between my upper and underside scales, and my underside scales will always be lighter. I will grow to be double the size of my non-magical counterpart. Once I am fully grown, rats, larger lizards, birds, and rabbits would be preferred, two to three times a week, and smaller prey on the interim days. Without larger prey I would need many more mice or smaller lizards daily to sustain me. I can control my venom, so when dealing with muggles, it is simply painful and not often fatal. However if I can feel a magical spark, I can allow my venom to be much more potent and fast acting causing the internal and external bleeding to increase exponentially to the point where my victim may die before help can be reached.§ _

Hadrian had been nodded during the small snake’s explanation. But a few things occurred to him to ask.

_ §So what would happen when you were fully grown if you had stayed in the muggle zoo?§ _

_ §I assume muggles are the non-magicals who imprisoned me in that clear nest I could not escape?§  _ Hadrian nodded and the snake continued _ §My magic has been hiding my size and decreasing my appetite, though it shortens my lifespan to do so. I am an adult, and should be much larger, but it will take some time to reach my actual full size. Normally my kind live ten to fifteen summers, so staying in that muggle nest would have given me only 5-7 summers.§ _

_ §Well, you won’t have to hide with me, and I’ll make sure you get the appropriate food. Next question, I felt a bit of a pull towards you which is why I stopped at your cage. Do you know what that is?§ _

_ §I also feel a pull toward you, young speaker, but I do not know why or what it may mean. Perhaps other magical humans would be able to explain?§ _

_ §My heart father figure is a potions master and he often uses magical snake venom and shed skin for potions. Would you be willing to provide some venom for him, or allow me to give him your old skin when you molt?§  _

_ §I would be fine with you giving him my skin, though I will need to evaluate whether he is acceptable to receive my venom.§ _

_ §That’s fine, I’m sure he’ll be excited to meet you.§  _ The snake hissed an unintelligible sound which Hadrian took to indicate his agreement.

_ §I have answered your questions, will you answer mine, speaker?§ _

_ §Oh! Of course you can ask anything you want.§  _ Hadrian rubbed the snake’s head and was directed to an itchy patch of skin to scratch.

_ §The large ones who harmed you, they are your nestmates?§ _

_ §Well… Yes. Technically. They are my...nestmates because my mother and the larger one’s mate were nestmates. But they are not who I think of as nestmates.§ _

_ §Ah, nest hatchlings. Yes, chosen nestmates are often better than nest hatchlings.§ _

_ §Yes, well, my chosen nestmates are much better than these. My brother in magic is Draco. I’ll have to introduce you in person when I go to school in September, but you can see him in my communication mirror in my contained nest when we get back to my current nest. His mother, Narcissa or Cissa, is my heart mother. Her heart mate, Severus, is my heart father. He’s the potions master I mentioned. And Lucius is her mate, but they are not heart mates. He is...well, I’m not actually sure what he is, but he’s Draco’s father, and has taken wonderful care of me along with the others. I also have a helper friend, Dobby, who you will meet tonight in my contained nest.§ _

_ §You have a contained nest like mine, speaker?§ _

_ §Similar, but I chose my contained nest, whereas you were forced into yours. I will likely be forced into a small portion of the nest when we return, but it houses my contained nest, and it is much nicer than it appears from the outside. I think you will like it.§ _

Hadrian caught sight of the returning Dursleys and Piers, and hissed at his new friend to hide under his clothes. That was one nice thing about Dudley’s cast offs, they could hide a multitude of things.

He was correct. As soon as they returned home after dropping Piers off, Hadrian had been yanked through the house and shoved into the cupboard under the stairs with Vernon yelling about no meals for a week for his freakishness. Hadrian was thankful Severus and Lucius had insisted on placing a personal ward on him to protect him from violent actions as he was certain without it Vernon would have been beating him as he had when Hadrian was younger. Hadrian carefully maneuvered around the trunk in the dark, placing his hand on the latch, hissing the passwords and pushing the diamond button to open his flat.

He descended the stairs and allowed his new slithering friend down to explore the new nest.

_ §Friend, do you have a name?§  _ Hadrian asked as the snake returned from his exploration.

_ §What is a name?§  _

_ §It is something that others use to identify you. For instance, my name is Hadrian, so if someone says my name, I know they are speaking to me.§ _

_ §I see. I have no name, young speaker Hadrian. You may select one if you wish.§ _

_ §Ok. You can just call me Hadrian, you don’t have to say speaker. I have a book with lots of words from other languages, let’s see if we can find something you like§ _

They discussed for an hour, Hadrian suggesting words, saying them in both Parseltongue and in human speech to see if any appealed to his new friend.

_ §What about Zils? It means blue in Latvian. Zils.§  _ “Zils,” Hadrian said in human speech.

_ §Zils...hmm, I like it.§  _ The snake nodded before curling up on the heated pillow Hadrian had placed on the chair for him to rest. 

Hadrian was laying on the chaise when the communication mirror over the sofa glowed to alert him of an incoming call. He got up, released Slytherin’s wand and tapped the mirror to activate it.

“Hadrian!” Draco shouted in the mirror. “We were so worried!”

“You never called for Dobby last night,” Lucius reminded him pointedly.

“Oops,” Hadrian said sheepishly, ducking his head as the Malfoy family looked him over from the mirror. “Dobby,” Hadrian called, summoning his house elf to his new location.

“Master Hadrian bes calling Dobby!” Dobby began quickly. “Dobby bes worried for Master Hadrian. Master Hadrian must remembers to bes calling on Dobby!” 

“Sorry, Dobby,” Hadrian said, suffering the small house elf’s excited behavior in penance for forgetting his friend.

“Well, at least you are alright,” Narcissa said with a slight sniff. 

“Severus and I will be there in an hour, Hadrian,” Lucius reminded him. 

Hadrian nodded, “I will be here.”

They all signed off the mirror as it wasn’t the most secure form of wizarding communication. It was much nicer for conversation than floo though, so occasionally it was worth it. Dobby immediately began cleaning the flat, though he had cleaned it thoroughly before they left Malfoy Manor, and was introduced to the snake.

As promised, an hour later, his floo chimed alerting him that Severus and Lucius were requesting entrance. He went to unlock the floo and hissed his override password  _ §Beam me up, Scotty§ _ . He had seen the teleporters in a tv show Dudley quite liked from America and thought the feeling might be similar to flooing. He decided that very few if any wixen would ever figure out his floo password, even if they could somehow figure out the Parseltongue. 

Lucius entered first, magically removing the ash and carrying updated Doll Harry, and then Severus came through, prepared with more potions, and forced him into a chair for a quick diagnostic. Seeing the bruising from the multiple rounds of manhandling earlier, he passed the child a bruise balm and instructed him to apply it. While Hadrian was working on that, Lucius noticed the snake curled up in what he privately considered  _ his _ chair, having used it when he had been invited into the trunk flat to assist with bringing in the furniture after Hadrian and Draco had made their selections..

“Hadrian,” Lucius began carefully, “who is your friend?” He pointed to the snake who had been watching the proceedings with interest.

“Oh! That’s Zils,” Hadrian said happily.  _ §Zils, this is Severus and Lucius, two of my chosen nestmates!§ _

Zils uncoiled a bit and tested the air with his tongue.  _ §The dark one smells of many things.§ _

_ §That’s Severus, he’s the potions master. Do you think he could have your venom sometime?§  _

Zils slithered down and tasted the air around the potions master, who had gone completely still when he moved from the chair.  _ §He is worthy.§ _

“Ooo, Severus, Zils says you’re worthy. That means I can give you his shed skin and sometimes his venom for your potions!” Hadrian switched to English to inform the potions master of the small snake’s approval.

“And how did you stumble across a magical White Lipped Island Viper in this muggle location?” Severus drawled.

“Ah well, see, I wound up having to go to the zoo with the Dursleys for Duddley’s birthday because Mrs. Figg broke her leg. And I felt this sort of tug to stop at his cage. So I started talking to him and when Dudley and Vernon were manhandling me, he told me to vanish the glass and he would come with me and help protect me.” Hadrian spilled a brief account of the events leading to his ownership of Zils.

“I see,” Severus pinched the bridge of his nose and Lucius was rubbing his forehead in exasperation or fond amusement. They really couldn’t decide which.

“You said you felt a tug?” Lucius confirmed. Hadrian nodded. “Then he could be your familiar.”

“Really?” Hadrian asked, his eyes glowing with happiness.

“Of course we can’t do the ritual until your next opportunity to visit Gringotts without the knowledge of the old man, so likely Yule,” Lucius began, “but if he is willing, he could become your familiar.”

_ §Zils, they said the tug I felt means you could be my familiar!§ _

_ §What is a familiar, Hadrian?§ _

_ §A friend. A protector. You take my blood and magic and it ties your life to mine so you can live as long as I do!§  _ Hadrian explained the bond simply to his friend.

_ §Then I shall be your familiar§  _ Zils hissed contentedly, coiling back up on the heated pillow.

“Well, this has been a busy day for you then,” Lucius continued once Hadrian had stopped speaking to his possible familiar. “The zoo, a new familiar, and a call from your family.”

Hadrian smiled. They talked for a bit longer, reminding Hadrian that his Hogwarts letter would arrive the week before his birthday. They gave Hadrian more hugs, and reminded him to mirror call occasionally, before they left again via floo, leaving the Doll Harry behind. Once they left, Hadrian took Doll Harry up the stairs and placed it in the cupboard ready to take his place again until Hadrian needed to leave.

\----------

###  _ Wednesday, July 24, 1991 _

Hadrian stayed entirely in his trunk flat for the next month, waiting for his Hogwarts letter to arrive. He knew he would need to get it from the Doll Harry as soon as he could, but was not willing to risk being seen to do so, so he planned on getting the letter after everyone had gone to bed. Unfortunately his plan did not work out. Dudley had seen the letter in the stack before Doll Harry could hide it and Vernon had taken the letter and destroyed it. Hadrian wasn’t too concerned with  _ reading _ the letter, as he had read Draco’s and knew what it said, but he was concerned with  _ replying  _ to the letter in the absence of an owl. He started listening to the family from the stairs, hearing Vernon nailing the door shut, Petunia finding letters rolled up in eggs, and the entire family’s increasing anxiety over the letters and accompanying owls. Hadrian knew if he could just get to an owl he could send his response and it would be taken care of, but he was also interested to see what would happen if they continued to receive no response. 

\----------

###  _ Tuesday, July 30, 1991 _

He found out the day before his birthday when he heard Vernon shove Doll Harry into the cupboard telling him to pack his clothes, they were leaving. Hadrian quickly pulled Doll Harry into the trunk, tapped the location to shrink it with his finger and hissed the locking password while grabbing a worn rucksack and shoving some of Dudley’s old things into it. He had taken a set of old clothes into his trunk and changed into them when he heard the start of the commotion that morning, so he was ready to go almost immediately. He slipped his now matchbox sized trunk into the pocket he had patched and magically reinforced with stabilization charms, and judicious use of thread magic to keep it protected from anything he could think of the Dursleys doing to try and get into his pockets. He hoped Dobby and Zils would be alright since he hadn’t had time to alert them to the situation. He resolved to call Dobby as soon as he was somewhere alone to quickly explain and have him contact the Malfoys or Severus for him.

Vernon had driven them around the countryside like a madman, making fast turns, doubling back, and shoving at his hair while muttering under his breath like a person deranged. They stopped at a convenience store in the middle of nowhere where he bought a few random snacks, and put a long wrapped package in the boot. Dudley had been whining about missing his favorite shows, and Hadrian was retreating into his mindscape as often as he could to block out the horrible sound.

They finally stopped at a grungy seaside village where Vernon paid an decrepit old man for the use of his rowboat, which they then used to row out to an unforgiving looking rock with an old, unused lighthouse in the center. Hadrian had been gripping his hands together tightly focusing all his magic on keeping the small rowboat together and afloat under the enormous strain of his very large uncle and cousin. When they arrived, they settled in to eat the snacks, Harry getting nothing of course as it was all his fault they had been chased from their home by owls and letters addressed to him, and when they went to bed, Hadrian was forced to sleep next to the fireplace under a old ratty sheet which was all the Dursleys had seen fit to provide him to combat the cold. Dudley was asleep on the couch, so Hadrian was also unable to call Dobby for fear of waking him. Unable to sleep, and wishing it were all over already, Hadrian waved his hand to cast a tempus and saw it was nearly midnight. He drew a cake with eleven candles and was just blowing them out when a hard knock on the door reverberated through the dilapidated lighthouse. Another blow to the door and a muffled curse, and then the door was blown off its hinges by the largest man Hadrian had ever seen.

After confirming the fact that he was indeed Harry Potter (with an internal sneer at the non-wizarding nickname), Hagrid produced a letter and a slightly squashed cake and offered them to Hadrian. Hadrian set the cake aside in favor of his letter and getting answers from this unknown person and storing away the details to be relayed to Lucius and Severus at the earliest opportunity. While they were talking, Dudley had made his way to the cake unobserved and began stuffing his face. When Hagrid noticed, he waved his flowery pink umbrella and gave Dudley a pig’s tail. Dudley ran squealing (Hadrian privately thought that also sounded rather pig-like) to his parents, and Vernon raised a shotgun in an attempt to intimidate Hagrid, who looked at Vernon as if he were an uninteresting creature, and bent the barrel of the shotgun into a knot. The Dursleys all disappeared into the solitary bedroom after that. 

\----------

###  _ Wednesday, July 31, 1991 _

The next morning, Hadrian was woken by a small owl trying to deliver the paper. Deciding he should not show his familiarity with the magical world, he attempted to rouse Hagrid who directed him into one of his numerous pockets to pay the small bird. Once he was awake, he offered Hadrian a sausage warmed from the fire and began to tell him all about Diagon Alley, Hogwarts, and the great Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore. Hadrian filed the information away, including the fact that he should have been retrieved by a professor for his introduction to the magical world, and was instead faced with a Dumbledore sycophant who was not a professor at all and was already grating on his nerves. They left the small island quickly, for which Hadrian was grateful, and even privately entertained by, seeing as he and Hagrid had taken the only available transportation, effectively leaving the Dursleys stranded.

Hagrid took Hadrian through the Leaky Cauldron where he met the stuttering Professor Quirrell, and was ambushed by every patron in the store. This was his first appearance in Diagon Alley in his own features, and though he had been prepared and coached by his family, it was still somewhat disorienting. He tried to call up the awed excitement he had felt the first time Narcissa brought him to Diagon Alley on his second day with the Malfoys and thought he managed it rather well. Their first stop upon entering the Wizarding Shopping District was Gringotts. He nodded politely to the goblins he passed, unable to follow appropriate protocol and give full bows as he was currently posing as an ignorant muggle-raised wizard, and was directed to Griphook for the ride down to his trust vault. Hadrian was not happy because he couldn’t converse with his account manager since Hagrid had also been required to enter the vaults. He was picking up something from vault 713 which Dumbledore no doubt wanted Hadrian curious about. The situation being what it was, Griphook faked the use of Hadrian’s non-functioning key as Hadrian carefully placed his hand on the door, faking awe at the carvings, and stepped inside, only gathering a hundred galleons for his supplies.

He bought the required supplies to the letter, already having better quality versions of most of it in his trunk from his shopping trip with the Malfoys. Unfortunately, he was required to get another trunk as it would look suspicious if he did not, so he purchased the least expensive one that looked similar to his current trunk and that was that. He purchased his books at Flourish and Blotts and surreptitiously picked up a few others that looked like they might be interesting, though he knew from Mr. Morgan’s tutoring that he would be significantly beyond the average first year’s level. 

The apothecary did have decent ingredients, though not the quality he and Draco had selected for themselves in France, but he purchased two of the kits anyway. Severus had instructed him to ask for the Slytherin kit if he wanted more ingredients for his personal practice, which he had been told contained better ingredients than the others. 

He bought basic parchment and quills for backup, and the basic astronomy set. He did find a few things he liked the style of at Madame Malkin's which he bought to take apart in study so he could recreate them himself, and enjoyed his faux-superficial conversation with his brother while being fitted for his uniform very much. He had noticed the Malfoys discreetly following him throughout the day and was pleased he would only need to report significant details when they next spoke, rather than the entirety of the trip. He was looking forward to getting his wand at Ollivanders, but was also somewhat concerned he would also be unable to find a match. 

Hagrid left him at the door to Ollivanders alone, muttering about needing to see to something. Hadrian shrugged and entered the shop. He was unsurprised by the appearance of Ollivander, and only mildly interested in his talk about the wands of his parents. He had seen their wands in the Evans and Potter vaults after all. He was more interested in the wand selection process, but somewhat disappointed to find he would have to physically wave all the wands brought to him since Ollivander didn’t appear to have a more sophisticated or efficient way to narrow the options like the shop in France. He tried wand after wand and Ollivander only seemed to get more giddy with each failure. He was finally presented with an eleven inch holly and phoenix feather wand. When he swished the wand, a golden glow filled the shop and Hadrian could feel the attachment between the wand and his magic. It was nothing like the feeling he had with his family wands, but it still felt good. 

Mr. Ollivander was muttering, “Curious... very curious…”

“What’s curious?” Hadrian asked politely.

Mr. Ollivander straightened as he spoke, “I remember every wand I've ever sold, Mr. Potter. It so happens that the phoenix whose tail feather resides in your wand gave another feather... just one other. It is curious that you should be destined for this wand when its brother gave you that scar.”

Hadrian looked at the aging wand maker curiously. 

Mr. Ollivander continued, “The wand chooses the wizard, Mr. Potter. It's not always clear why. But I think it is clear that we can expect great things from you. After all, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did great things. Terrible! Yes. But great.”

Hadrian stored away the information that he had the Dark Lord’s brother wand, purchased his wand and a dragonhide holster, and exited the shop, glad to be free of the strange man. As he was walking away, Hagrid returned carrying a large golden cage containing a beautiful snowy white owl.

“Happy Birthday, Harry!” Hagrid said jovially. “I got ya’ a present!”

“She’s beautiful,” Hadrian breathed. The owl looked at him with piercing eyes that seemed to be able to read his soul. She nodded somewhat imperiously, and let out an accepting hoot. Hadrian felt a similar tug on his magic to the one he felt in front of Zils at the zoo. Apparently he had found another familiar. “Thank you, Hagrid, she’s wonderful,” Hadrian said sincerely. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> §Parseltongue§
> 
> The Dursley’s think about and refer to Hadrian as Harry, not knowing about his real name (and likely uncaring even if they did). His chosen family refers to him as Hadrian, and if he is thinking to himself or speaking to his familiars, he will be called Hadrian.
> 
> White lipped island vipers do exist, and they can in fact be blue, though not as brightly blue as I have described Zils. All the information presented as the zoo card is accurate. I increased the coloration, size, lifespan, and venom potency for the purposes of making the distinction between the muggle and magical version of the snake.
> 
> And thank you to JKR for the tiny bit of Ollivander dialogue I used from the first book.


	19. Chapter 18 - Starting Bonds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Previously: The zoo, Hadrian's Hogwarts Letter, and Diagon Alley shopping
> 
> In this chapter: Train ride and the sorting

###  _ August 1991 _

The last month before Hadrian’s arrival at Hogwarts passed uneventfully. Hagrid had returned him to Number 4 Privet Drive where he had been summarily locked in the cupboard. He had retrieved Doll Harry from the storage compartment of his trunk and returned it to his cupboard while he continued his study, plans, and communication with Severus, the Malfoys, and Griphook via the mirror or floo. He had made a couple of excursions to the bank to retrieve more reading material from his vaults, and had started working his way through some of the random trunks also stored there. He had found some older styles of clothing which were of particular interest to him, whether for the style, or to be picked apart for their components, trim, and buttons. He had been owl ordering supplies from several of Twilfitt and Tattings’ suppliers, but due to not being able to receive owl post while at the Dursley's, had arranged for his shipments to be taken to the shop. He had retrieved his materials on his first trip through Diagon Alley after shopping with Hagrid and was now happily involved in making himself and Draco new things based on the styles he found, or using the existing pieces and adding new trim, new decorations, or other thread magic improvements to update them.

Hadrian had also had numerous discussions with his family as a whole and with individual members regarding the plans for his sorting, and how they might be able to move forward depending on where he ended up. Severus could tell that Hadrian wanted to be in Slytherin with Draco, and knew that Draco would be there without any question on the matter, but he had cautioned Hadrian to be prepared for any of the other houses. Lucius’ conversation with Hadrian about the main qualities of each house and what sorts of people they tended to become as adults had cemented Hadrian’s thought that, though it would be beneficial for keeping the headmaster hoodwinked, Gryffindor would not be a good fit. He rather thought he’d kill someone if he landed there. His conversation with Draco and Narcissa however had made him much more willing to be in any of the other three houses. His private conversations with Draco were used to bring the blonde around to the idea that, though he did have numerous Slytherin qualities, it was unlikely he’d be in the house with his brother because it would just bring too much scrutiny from the barmy old man. Hadrian rather thought he’d be in Ravenclaw after the various discussions and was of the mind that it really was the best place for him. 

\----------

###  _ Sunday, September 1, 1991 _

On the morning of September 1st, before any of the Dursleys were awake, Hadrian got up and got ready to leave. He made sure all of his things had been put away and organized neatly, and with the appropriate stabilization charms applied. He also put Doll Harry in storage and was now sitting on his trunk, a bit bored, but prepared to wait for the Dursleys to wake up. He was not required to wait long as Petunia was soon banging on the door yelling at him to get up and make breakfast.

He got to work quickly and efficiently and soon had a full English breakfast spread prepared for his family. He hoped with the abundance of good food, he could get his aunt and uncle into a good enough mood that one of them would be amenable to dropping him off at King’s Cross Station. He made himself scarce while they ate, having eaten breakfast in his trunk before starting everything, washed dishes and fetched the paper for Uncle Vernon. When they were finished and Dudley had retreated to the parlor to watch television Hadrian cleared his throat quietly and began his plea.

“Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia?” Hadrian nearly whispered.

“What is it, boy?” Vernon spat, growing angry at being addressed.

“Today is when I leave for school,” Hadrian began, only to be interrupted quickly.

“Freak’s school, no doubt,” Vernon sneered.

“I need to go to King’s Cross Station to catch my train. Could one of you please take me?” Hadrian rushed through his request, though maintained the facade of politeness, knowing if he didn’t he definitely wouldn’t be getting a ride.

“Yes, we’ll take you when we’re taking Dudley to the hospital. Got to have that ruddy tail removed before he goes to Smeltings.” Vernon groused, glaring at the boy.

“My train leaves at 10:00 am,” Hadrian judiciously altered the time the train was leaving, hoping he wouldn’t be made late.

“Yes, yes,” Vernon waved him away. 

Hadrian returned to the cupboard and extended the handle on his trunk, making it look much more like a muggle suitcase, so the neighbors wouldn’t think it odd that he was going to a boarding school without any luggage. Not too much time later, Aunt Petunia had persuaded Dudley to sit next to his freak cousin and they were barreling down the road to London. Vernon squealed the tires turning into the station, causing a number of people to look their way. Hadrian was concerned that when he got out of the car Uncle Vernon might just pull away without allowing him to grab his trunk. Of course it wouldn’t be the end of the world, he’d simply summon Dobby and tell him to retrieve the trunk, but he was spared the added stress as the boot popped open and as soon as his trunk was clear Vernon was slamming it shut, stomping back to his seat, and squealing the tires again as he pulled away, leaving his small nephew behind.

Hadrian ignored the stares and grabbed the handle of his trunk to make his way towards Platforms 9 and 10. Hagrid had not instructed him on how to get to the platform, but Severus had explained how the entrance worked from the muggle side. He had also promised to be waiting on the muggle side all morning to ensure Hadrian made it there safely. Before he made his way through the barrier, he decided to stop at the restroom so he could put on his own clothes. As he exited the men’s room now clad in his wizarding clothing and French silk school robes, he jumped when an invisible hand landed on his shoulder. He looked around carefully before opening his free hand. The invisible hand took his and pulled him away to a nearby alcove. Severus appeared once he and Hadrian were fully hidden, hugging the boy and wishing him luck. They knew someone would be coming through the muggle side in Dumbledore’s continuing attempts to manipulate Hadrian, and Severus would stay until that person or family had been identified. Hadrian thanked Severus for being there, and made his way to platforms. He leaned against the appropriate pillar casually and slid right through the barrier and on to Platform 9¾ . 

Hadrian’s eyes widened as soon as he was through. He had thought he was somewhat immune to the magical world, having experienced so much with the Malfoys over the past 3 years, but this was amazing! Since it was only just nearing 10:00 and he had another hour before the train left, he pulled his trunk to an out-of-the-way spot, and quickly opened his trunk. After making sure there was no one there, he dashed down the stairs into the flat, opened his owl’s cage, and dashed back up, closing and locking the trunk again. He petted the white owl and released her with the instruction to fly on ahead to Hogwarts. He didn’t see any reason why she should be cooped up in her cage any longer than necessary when she was perfectly capable of making her own way to the school.

He looked around the platform for a few minutes, enjoying the sight of the red, old-fashioned steam engine. Once he had looked his fill, he grabbed his trunk, tapped it with his newest wand to shrink it, and stashed it in his pocket. He decided it would be better to pick a compartment while the platform was nearly empty, and hopefully Draco would find him later. He made his way towards the end of the train, thinking the compartments closer to the engine would fill up first and not wanting to be bothered too much before they left. He settled near the end of the train and pulled out a book he had placed in a magically expanded pocket he had added to his robes. He could hear the noise level outside the train picking up as the clock ticked ever closer to 11:00 am. When the train started moving at precisely 11:00 am, he set his book aside for a bit to entertain himself with the scenery.

Not even an hour had passed when Draco, Theo, and Blaise found Hadrian’s compartment. They settled in for a good catch up chat. They were happily discussing their summer trips, new hobbies, and other things they had done since they were last together when their compartment door was banged open by a tall, skinny, red-head. 

“Mind if I sit here, everywhere else is full,” the red-head asked, not offering his name. He was already moving his trunk into the compartment and edging toward an empty seat across from Hadrian. Draco and Hadrian exchanged a glance, but waved a hand to indicate the boy could sit. His robes did not have colored trim or a house insignia, so they knew he was a fellow first year. Given his appearance, Draco was certain he was a Weasley, likely the youngest boy, Ronald. 

“I’m Theodore Nott,” Theo spoke up, foregoing his title because he was unsure if the red-head knew the proper protocols, and breaking the now somewhat awkward silence.

“Blaise Zabini,” the dark headed Italian boy spoke up.

“Draco Malfoy,” Draco said haughtily.

The presumed-to-be Ronald snickered. 

“Think my name is funny, do you?” Draco said copying the raised brow Severus could use to killing effect.

Ronald’s eyes widened a bit, and he shook his head quickly, offering his name, “I’m Ron, by the way. Ron Weasley.” 

The three likely Slytherins exchanged looks, shaking their heads slightly. 

“Hadrian Potter,” Hadrian offered.

“You’re Harry Potter!” Ron said “Do you have the...you know…”

“My name is Hadrian,” green eyes flashed in anger, “and yes, I have the scar I received the night my parents were murdered.” He turned back to his book, knowing he and his friends would be unable to discuss anything of importance around this new boy.

Draco glared at the boy, “Didn’t your mother teach you any manners? Or was she too busy with her too many children to tell you it’s rude to ask about something like that?” He was sneering by the end, and Ron had blanched under the force of his fury. Theo and Blaise had decided to stay out of it and started a game of exploding snap. 

I..I did… I didn’t mean…” Ron stuttered out.

“Clearly,” Draco sneered, pulling out his own book.

The compartment door opened revealing two more red heads, these two however looked identical. 

“Ronnie-kins!” they shouted out together.

“Put your-”

“Foot in it”

“Didn’t you?” the twins traded off, finishing in tandem.

“Fred and,” said the twin on the left

“George Weasley,” The twin on the right pointed to himself. 

“At your service,” they finished together.

“Let us assist you”

“In removing our”

“Dear little brother,” they said together again. One twin grabbed each of Ron’s arms, and the one Hadrian thought was Fred grabbed his trunk, which the youngest red-head had not managed to get into the rack, and together they dragged both boy and trunk out of the compartment, the door slamming shut behind them. The four boys just shook their heads and returned to their game and conversation.

An hour or so later a polite knock was heard at the door. Theo got up to open the door and two students who also had no house insignia stood there, the girl rather confidently, the boy wringing his hands.

“Has anyone seen a toad?” The girl with extremely bushy hair asked. “Neville here has lost one.”

Neville let out a sniffle at the bald statement regarding his pet.

“Is the toad your familiar?” Draco asked. The boy named Neville nodded. 

“Have you not yet learned to follow the familiar bond?” the blond continued. Neville shook his head dejectedly. Draco gave the boy an inquisitive glance, but remained silent when Hadrian spoke up. 

“Does it have a name?” Hadrian asked the boy kindly, knowing how he would feel if he couldn’t find one of his familiars. 

“T-T-Trevor,” Neville stuttered.

“Accio Trevor,” Hadrian said, swishing his wand.

“But...You know we aren’t supposed to do magic when we aren’t at school,” the bushy-haired girl said in a rather know-it-all voice.

The toad landed safely in Hadrian’s hand. “The train is an extension of Hogwarts. And even if it weren’t there are 17 year olds on the train which would confuse the trace. Either way, you can in fact do magic on the train,” Hadrian pointed out, rather matter-of-fact.

The girl’s mouth snapped shut. 

“Now that the toad is safe, would you care to join us, Neville? And…” Hadrian asked politely, they had knocked after all, rather than just barging in the way Ron did.

“Hermione Granger,” the now named bushy-haired girl said.

“I am Hadrian Potter,” Hadrian started wanting to get it over with, “and these are Draco Malfoy, Theodore Nott, and Blaise Zabini.”

The three other boys gave nods to the two newcomers while both of them stared openly at Hadrian. Neville was the first to recover, shaking his head a bit as he adjusted his grip on Trevor.

“Thank you, that would be welcome,” he offered rather formally to cover his awe at meeting the great Savior of the Wizarding World. He dropped into a seat rather unceremoniously clearly having exhausted himself with their small exchange.

“I know you,” Hermione began. “You’re Harry Potter. You were in…” Hadrian cut her off.

“I know you’ve probably read a number of stories regarding my life and circumstances outside of my control when I was a toddler. But please, I’m a child, and a first year student, just like you,” Hadrian rubbed his head a little, starting to get a headache.

Draco reached into his robe and pulled out a phial of headache reliever and offered it to Hadrian. “It’s Severus’,” he offered as Hadrian took it.

“Thanks,” Hadrian responded shortly. “Look, you’re welcome to sit, Hermione, but please, I’m no all-powerful hero.”

Her mouth snapped shut a second time, but she took a seat.

Theo once again jumped into the awkward gap, “So… what classes are you all excited for?”

“Potions, of course,” Draco started. “But Professor Prince is my godfather, so it is to be expected,” he said with a small smile.

“Oh, that’s so interesting,” Hermione jumped in. “Has he been teaching you before? I read about his amazing achievements… Youngest Potions Master in Britain and he received his Mastery at 18!”

Draco nodded, “Yes, he received his Grand Mastery Commendation at Yule last year. He’s the youngest Potions Master ever, and youngest Grand Master in any subject...Ever. He has tutored me a bit in preparation for school.” Hermione’s eyes grew even larger at the pronouncement of his achievements. Draco continued, “Word of advice? Memorize his syllabus and NEVER come to class unprepared. He doesn’t tolerate idiots.”

Hermione nodded and Neville just looked a bit scared.

Blaise picked up the topic handily, “I’m looking forward to charms. I like the variety.”

Theo continued, “I was excited about history, until I heard it was taught by a ghost who only talks about the Goblin wars. There is more to wixen history than wars or goblins,” he said with some disgust. “Suppose it will probably be Arithmancy and Ancient Runes in third year when we can pick electives.”

“Those did sound particularly exciting when I was reading about the coursework,” Hermione said with a smile. “I’m just ever so excited for all of it. You know, my family never knew the strange things I could do was magic. It all just seems so wonderful.”

“Wildwitch then?” Draco asked.

“What’s a wildwitch?” Hermione said, puzzled.

“First witch in your family, muggle-born, magic came to you from nowhere,” he explained briefly.

“Oh, yes, I suppose. I don’t know how you’d know for sure what with squibs being exiled though…” Hermione trailed off, a grim look on her face.

“You didn’t go to Gringotts?” Theo asked aghast.

“Of course I did! My parents had to change our money so we could buy my supplies,” she said.

“Your school escort didn’t tell you to take an inheritance test while you were there?” Blaise confirmed, looking at Draco with some concern.

“I didn’t have a school escort to Diagon Alley. Professor McGonagall brought my letter and explained to my parents. They asked how to get to the shopping center and where to change our money, and she told them. Was there supposed to be more?”

“Dumbledore,” Draco said, rolling his eyes. “McGonagall is his pet.”

“Headmaster Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall,” Hermione said, affronted by the lack of respect for teachers.

“ _ Headmaster _ Dumbledore,” Draco sneered, “and his follower teachers, like  _ Professor  _ McGonagall, would see our society merge with Muggles, never mind the fact that families who reject Magic are punished by losing their magic in the form of squib children. And squibs aren’t exiled, they’re supported by their families to find non-magical employment in the wixen world. If they choose to leave the wixen world, there’s nothing the magical family can do without further affronting Magic. If the squib stays in the magical world and continues to follow magical tradition, they can revitalize their families by having magical children. If they leave, that possibility is lost. Dumbledore and his ilk don’t alert students to the possibility that they may be the offspring of dying families who would love nothing more than to welcome them into the magical world and help them make the transition.”

“What he means to say in simpler terms,” Theo piped up to say, “is that you could be the child, grandchild, niece, or whatever of an existing magical family or you could be a true wildwitch where magic develops spontaneously, but you would never know without the inheritance test from Gringotts.”

Hermione nodded, understanding what they were saying, but also still respecting the authority of the teachers, “Perhaps Professor McGonagall forgot.”

Draco rolled his eyes, but didn’t comment further.

“At any rate, Hermione,” Theo began speaking again, “You should definitely pay close attention in Wixen Studies which is required for first and second years. It will help explain the basics of wix culture, education, holidays, government, and the like. I suggest you take the elective Wixen Studies class for your OWLs and NEWTs since it goes into much more detail. And you’re more likely to be blessed by magic that way as well.”

Hermione nodded.

“What about you, Neville,” Blaise asked, bringing the conversation back on topic, “What classes are you looking forward to?”

Neville looked startled to have been addressed directly, “well, Herbology I suppose. I always enjoyed helping the gardeners at home…” he trailed off, feeling uncertain. The group nodded.

Hadrian spoke up as he was the only one who hadn’t said anything, “I think I’ll enjoy everything. But I’m most looking forward to Healing and Dueling which are only available to 6th and 7th years, and only if you meet the prerequisites.”

The group continued their conversation now that some of the awkwardness had worn off. They talked, played games, and enjoyed sweets for the duration of the train ride. Trevor the toad had not escaped again.

When they arrived as Hogsmeade Station, they were called to attention by Hagrid, who waved at Hadrian, but thankfully, didn’t shout out his name or anything like that. Hadrian was glad for the short reprieve before his anonymity was shattered. They entered the boats, Hadrian, Draco, Hermione, and Neville getting a boat together, Theo and Blaise got into a boat with two girls who Blaise pointed out as Pansy Parkinson and Daphne Greengrass. Ron they saw getting into a boat with two goon-ish looking boys Draco knew were Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle, and a blonde girl none of them recognized. They all fell silent at their first look at the castle. Hagrid’s yell to duck as they were coming up on a curtain of ivy which swung back at their approach shattered the moment. The small first years clambered out of the boats and up a long set of stairs which led to the entrance hall where they were met by a rather stern faced witch that Hermione whispered was Professor McGonagall. She gave a small speech about the houses and points and left them to wait. While she was gone a number of pearly white ghosts floated through the room talking about a poltergeist of all things, startling the new students to screams. The ghosts waved goodbye at Professor McGonagall’s return, and she chivied them into two lines. 

She led them into the great hall, mouths agape at the splendor of the gold dishes sitting on every table, the floating candles, and the amazing ceiling which had been enchanted to depict the sky from outside. When they stopped the small group of forty students huddled together under the gaze of the entire school whose whispering was cut off as a hat on a stool at the front began to sing. It sang about the four houses and gave a general idea of what each house was known for. Hadrian and his friends resisted rolling their eyes, all being nearly certain they already knew which house would be theirs. Hermione and Neville were in shock, and Hadrian reached over to close Neville’s mouth, pushing it up with a finger. He smiled at the startled boy, and returned his gaze to the front. Professor McGonagall began reading names, and each student stepped forward to sit on the stool where the hat was placed on their small heads before it shouted out their new house to the school. Some students sat for longer than others, but Hadrian was really only interested in a few. 

Unrolling her list, Professor McGonagall called out, “Hannah Abbott”

The small blonde girl they hadn’t recognized from the boat with Ron tripped forward.

“HUFFLEPUFF!” The hat shouted after just a few moments.

“Susan Bones,” Professor McGonagall read out next.

Hadrian tuned out the sorting until he heard, “Hermione Granger.” He watched his possible new friend walk forward with a determined set to her head and disappear under the hat. It was one of the longer sortings, but finally the hat called out “GRYFFINDOR!”

A few names later, “Neville Longbottom,” caught his attention and the hat dithered for a bit before sending him to “GRYFFINDOR!” as well. Neville ran off with the hat still on his head and had to go back and return it to the professor sheepishly.

Draco was the next to catch his attention and the hat hadn’t even made it onto his head when it was screaming out, “SLYTHERIN!” Draco made his way to the Slytherin table rather triumphantly. Hadrian knew he had wanted to go to Slytherin, and thought he would, but somewhat like his fear about being an omega, he had also feared disappointing his father by being sorted anywhere other than Slytherin.

Theo went to Slytherin as well, and again, Hadrian tuned out until his own name was called.

Professor McGonagall paused before calling his name, “Harry Potter.”

Hadrian stepped forward, rather annoyed that the list said Harry rather than his actual name, Hadrian, but he resolved to speak to the teachers individually, and any students who actually talked to him. Anyone who didn’t wasn’t worth worrying about. He sat on the stool and the hall disappeared as the hat slipped over his head and covered his eyes.

_ “Hmm...difficult, very difficult…Plenty of courage, I see. Not a bad mind, either. There's talent, oh yes. And a thirst to prove yourself. But where to put you?” _ the hat spoke into his head. Hadrian jerked a bit, not expecting it.

_ “Please, Hat, not Slytherin,” _ Hadrian whispered in his mind.

_ “Not Slytherin, eh? Are you sure?” _ the hat continued.  _ “You could be great, you know. It's all here in your head. And Slytherin will help you on the way to greatness, there's no doubt about that. No?” _

_ “Please, Headmaster Dumbledore will put me under too much scrutiny if I go to Slytherin. I know I would do well there, and my brother is there, but please, no!” _ Hadrian said in his head.

_ “Will he now…” _ the hat contemplated silently for a few moments.  _ “Hmm… This changes things. I can’t send you to Gryffindor, though your parents were all in that house... Yes, I know you have three, young one, no need to panic, I’m forbidden to discuss sortings with anyone.” _

Hadrian gave an internal sigh of relief that had the hat chuckling.

_ “There’s only one place to put you, circumstances being what they are,” _ the hat said in his mind before amplifying his voice to the entire hall, “Better Be...RAVENCLAW!”

Silence reigned in the hall until Hermione and Neville began clapping for their friend from the train. The Ravenclaw table began clapping and cheering, while the other three houses merely clapped politely. Hadrian risked a glance at Severus as he went to his table and saw the flash of pride in his eyes and the almost imperceptible nod before he turned his attention back to the turban-wearing Professor Quirrell sitting next to him.

Hadrian completely tuned out after that, mainly wanting to eat and get to bed. He ignored the questions and comments from his dorm mates, as well as the speech the headmaster gave. He only roused to eat, and to follow the prefects to the common room once the feast was over. He made a mental note of the path they took from the Great Hall to the Common Room so hopefully he wouldn’t get lost. Once they had answered the question to get into the common room, the prefects led the first years to the sitting area in front of the fire and turned to introduce themselves.

“Hello,” the male prefect who escorted them began, “I am Robert Hilliard, 5th year Ravenclaw male Prefect and this is Penelope Clearwater, 5th year Ravenclaw female Prefect.” We are here to help you transition into boarding school, assist with homework or forming study groups, and help you find your way around the castle.”

“As Robert said,” the girl continued, “I am Penelope Clearwater and we are here to help. First things first, house rules:

  1. We are the house of intelligent and wise. Do not start things with the other houses or behave in a way that is unbecoming of our house.
  2. We are your family. If you have an issue with a housemate, keep it in the common room. Outside these walls, remember you are representing Ravenclaw.
  3. If you need help, ask. Again, intelligence and wisdom. We cannot help you become better if we are unaware you are struggling.”



Robert picked up after the rules, “As we know you’re all tired, we’ll keep things brief. Class schedules will be provided at breakfast tomorrow morning. Professor Flitwick is our Head of House and he will begin passing them out at 7:00. The Prefects will be waiting in the common room to assist first year students to the Great hall at 6:45. Breakfast normally starts at 6:30, but we will go down together.”

“Dormitories are single rooms which are assigned to you in first year, and you will remain in that room for the entirety of your school career. Feel free to decorate how you like. Each room has a small shower, toilet, and sink. If you wish to bathe, there is a shared bath hall located on the fourth floor of the dormitory. Please note that all first and second year students should use the entrance to the bath stalls with the BETA indication. You will all take Wixen Health class as second years which will go into more detail regarding possible secondary genders and how to deal with them, but know that if you wander into the Alpha or Omega baths, there may be trouble from which it will be difficult to extricate you. ALWAYS use the BETA baths first and second year.” Penelope finished with a rather dire sounding warning.

“Girls” Robert gestured to his fellow prefect, “please follow Penelope who will guide you to your rooms. Boys, follow me. We are in the tallest tower of the school, so get used to lots of stairs,” he finished with a chuckle, climbing the stairs and pointing out rooms with students disappearing into them as they went.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “Mental Speech” (italicized)


	20. Chapter 19 - Class Bonds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Previously: Train ride and the sorting
> 
> In this Chapter: First week of class

###  _Monday, September 2, 1991_

Hadrian had decided not to unpack the previous evening, and instead just enlarged his trunk and spent the night in his flat. Having sat on the single bed in his dorm, he thought he might just stay in his trunk the whole time. That bed had been very uncomfortable. Of course, he could also be a bit spoiled having stayed with the Malfoys, and gotten his trunk furniture from them, but he thought it a small thing to be a little spoiled after the disaster of his earlier childhood. Dobby had prepared him a steaming cup of hot chocolate with a dragon made out of marshmallow that he carefully lit on fire so Hadrian cold have a fire-breathing dragon, and he had changed into his silk pajamas and fell asleep almost before his head hit his very soft, fluffy pillows. 

As he dressed in the morning, he noticed that all his uniforms had blue and metallic bronze trim on the sleeves and bottom hem. The lining had been made blue and the Ravenclaw insignia had appeared on the right breast. Hadrian was also happy to see the special overcloak Narcissa had insisted he and Draco needed also had the lining turn blue. He noticed that his messenger bag was nearly the exact same shade and thought he might embroider the Ravenclaw Eagle on the flap, along with some bronze trimming. He wondered if Draco would like him to do the same with his bag, but with a snake instead. 

Hadrian grabbed his bag which Dobby had prepared with all the standard course books. They would receive their schedules this morning and he wanted to be prepared. School things in hand, he stepped over to the habitat he had created for Zils in his living room. It had actual small trees for him to climb or lounge on, rocks, green grass, a small sun, and a narrow babbling stream that was fed by a small waterfall on the wall. It fell into a small pool and then trickled down and off the edge of the table where it was gathered and returned to the top of the waterfall. He had based the set up on multi-level cat trees and the lowest level sat about a foot off the floor and climbed to the top of the taller of the two trees, which was just over Lucius’ height, around six and a half feet tall. 

Zils had very much appreciated this consideration, especially the lack of walls or fencing which would have prevented him from moving around the flat. He had promised to stay in the habitat while they were travelling due to the presence of numerous safety, stability, and cushioning charms, but he had become used to not being cooped up after his short time with Hadrian. He was growing quickly as well and Hadrian already had a shed skin to give to Severus after his first potions class. 

Hadrian scratched the snake's head, and hissed _§Would you like to go to breakfast and today’s classes with me?§_

Zils had a rather large bulge in his midsection and shook his head. _§Dobby provided me with a rabbit last night after you slept. I will remain here to digest it. Perhaps another day.§_

_§Okay. Enjoy your nap, Zils!§_

Zils hissed a sleepy non-reply as Hadrian grabbed his messenger bag and headed up the stairs and into his dorm room. Hadrian exited his room and made his way to the common room. He joined Terry Boot, Kevin Entwhistle, Su Li, and Padma Patil as they waited for the rest of their year mates and the prefects to head down to breakfast. The prefect Robert was the last one down, earning him a slight glare from Penelope, but they all headed down to breakfast quickly enough. 

Taking a seat at the Ravenclaw table, he ate his breakfast while he waited for Professor Flitwick to bring the class schedules. 

He smiled at Hermione and Neville when they came in together and sat at the Gryffindor table, and locked eyes with Draco when he sauntered in for breakfast at Slytherin. He couldn’t go talk to any of them however, because the heads of houses were stepping down from the head table to pass out class schedules. Since first and second year had only core classes, their schedules were handled out first, then the third through fifth and seventh years, followed by sixth, since they had to have their OWL grades checked to be approved for their chosen NEWT courses. Hadrian knew that because of the war there were so few students that though they used to separate by house or pairing two houses together, now there were so few students all four houses had all classes together. He hoped he could sit with all his friends sometimes as he looked over his course schedule.

**Monday** **Tuesday** **Wednesday** **Thursday** **Friday**

8A Wixen Studies Wixen Studies 

9A History Charms History 

10A Transfiguration Potions 

11A Transfiguration Transfiguration Potions 

_12P_ _Lunch_ _Lunch_ _Lunch_ _Lunch_ _Lunch_

1P DADA Herbology DADA Herbology 

2P Potions DADA Herbology Flying (H/R) 

3P Charms 

4P Charms 

11P Astronomy 

_The library is open from 7am-12 pm and 1pm-9:00pm Monday through Friday, and from 9am-12 pm and 1 pm-8pm on Saturday and Sunday._

_Breakfast is served from 6:30-8:30 am, lunch from 12-1pm, and dinner from 6-8 pm every day._

_Curfew for all students is from 10pm-6am every day. All students must be in their dormitory or common rooms during this time._

Well, he had class first thing, and it looked like he’d have Wix Studies with Hermione. All the other people he knew were wix raised, so they’d all be in Muggle Studies. But everything else would be together...except, it appeared, flying would be Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. He wondered when Slytherin and Gryffindor would have their flying class, but he supposed it didn’t really matter, and he’d find out from Hermione in Wix Studies.

A new prefect made their way down the table to the first years at 7:30. 

“Good morning, I am Gao Li, 6th year prefect. Sarah Fawcett and I will be taking you to class today and tomorrow. Since your first class tomorrow isn’t until 9:00 am, we will leave from here at 8:30 when breakfast ends.”

Sarah continued, “Wednesday, Robert and Penelope will guide you, Thursday, your 7th year prefects Amanda Cresswell and Clark Warren will escort you. Friday will be a mix of the 6th and 7th year prefects as some have more classes than others. Gather your things and we’ll be off.”

Sarah and Gao were good guides, explaining the route, trick steps on the stairs, when the stairs would move, and various statues, portraits, and other landmarks they could use to help them remember the path. The two prefects dropped them off in front of the Muggle Studies Room and pointed out the Wixen studies room right next door before heading off to their own classes. 

Hadrian was immensely bored in the class having been tutored extensively during his time with the Malfoys, but it was required that he take either Wixen or Muggle Studies, and since he was thought to have been raised in the muggle world, it only made sense for him to take Wixen Studies. Hopefully other wixen raised would see his scores and believe he was putting in the effort to assimilate to the wix culture. But he couldn't wait until he could drop the class in his third year. Severus had also told him that if he wanted to take the tests at the ministry early, he could do so. He planned on taking both Wix and Muggle Studies OWLs after second year, and NEWTs in either his fourth or fifth year. He just wanted the extra time in his schedule for his own personal studies.

After Wix Studies, the classes joined together and were led by the group of all four houses 6th year prefects to History of Magic, the only class at Hogwarts taught by a ghost. Hadrian had come prepared for this with his History text and a couple of supplementary texts because he, Draco, and their friends had been warned about the abysmal quality of the class. Hadrian intended to self study during the class period. He managed to get a seat next to Draco with Hermione on his other side. Theo, Blaise and Neville were at the table directly behind them. The ghost, Professor Binns, had soon put the majority of the class to sleep with his monotonous droning. Hadrian and his friends were managing to stay awake by way of the fact that they were not listening at all, but were reading and taking notes on the various texts they all had. Even Hermione was not paying attention, but rather had started voraciously reading when Hadrian passed her a book he had already completed.

When the bell rang for the end of the class, Hadrian and his group asked Gao if he could direct them to the Library as they wanted to complete their homework in a timely manner. Gao looked at them approvingly, praising them for their desire to stay on top of their schoolwork, a good habit to be in for when they have more classes in third year, he said. He told Penelope where he was headed and a few other students joined them. He warned them of the Library rules against food, talking, and defacing the books. He also let them know that Madame Pince, the Librarian, was a strict woman who would kick them out of the library if their behavior was in any way detrimental to the peace of the room. He also let them know that Professors Babbling, Sinestra, and Vector would sometimes be assisting there as they had so few classes. 

The group split as the wixen raised sat at tables together and the muggle raised sat at others to work on their first homework assignment. It wasn’t a terribly long assignment, only six inches on their family history, which didn’t require any additional reference books, so when they finished the groups separated. Hadrian and his friends grabbed a table in the back, separated from all the others and split up to get additional references for the essay assigned in History. They worked diligently and the bell for lunch was just ringing as they finished. The group made their way back to the great hall, following some older years and separated to their house tables. They wanted to sit together, but thought they should maybe wait a week or two before making too many waves.

They ate quickly and when their 6th year prefects were finished, all the first years were ready to go. Sarah gathered the Ravenclaws and began leading them to Defence against the Dark Arts, letting them know that they would likely have a different teacher every year, but this year should be fine seeing as the teacher had previously been the Muggle Studies teacher. 

Hadrian’s eyes began to water as they got closer to the classroom. He tried to breathe deeply, but it only made the stinging worse.

“Oh, yes,” Gao said when they were by the door, “Quirrell had a run-in with some vampires in Albania over the summer. He thinks they’re after him so he’s keeping garlic everywhere. Of course that’s a muggle superstition and won’t actually protect you from vampires, but you should be good otherwise.”

“Good luck,” Sarah said cheerily as they left.

The class was rubbish. Hadrian thought it was another class he’d have to self-study for. He couldn’t believe the man trying to use muggle superstitions to ward off a magical race. If that was how he dealt with dark creatures, he didn’t hold out much hope for his teaching for defending against real Dark Arts. But even the classification of Defense Against the Dark Arts confused him. During all his study with Draco prior to coming to Hogwarts, he had been taught that Dark Arts was simply a general classification for magics related to the Olde Magick, like elemental, wandless, or ritual magics. He knew they were typically more difficult to control, but he had seen spells people could use as weapons in his first year text books. He didn’t know why they'd need to know how to defend specifically against the Dark Arts, and not just overall defense, but he supposed he might find out later. It was something he could ask Severus or Lucius and Narcissa.

When they were picked up from DADA Hadrian politely asked Sarah if other house members were allowed in their dorms. She said it was fine, so long as they explained the house rules and kept to their dorm so as not to disturb others. She did warn him that cross-house visiting in dorms was only allowed in first and second year, and after that only those of the same secondary gender could visit a dorm room, otherwise they needed to use the common room, or find somewhere else to meet. Hadrian nodded and grabbed Draco, almost dragging him up to Ravenclaw tower and into his dorm room.

“This room isn’t terrible,” Draco said, “but Slytherin is better. Larger.”

“I’m sure it is, brother,” Hadrian said, rolling his eyes. “But I don’t intend to live here, I’m going to stay in my trunk.”

“Wise,” Draco gave his approval after a critical glance around the dormitory.

Hadrian rolled his eyes again, unlocked his trunk and led the blonde boy into his flat. Draco hadn’t been down since Hadrian left, so he took his time wandering through. He exclaimed over the habitat for Zils, which he hadn’t seen in person because Hadrian built it during the month between his letter and school starting, and offered the snake scratches. Zils hissed in pleasure and returned to his digestive nap.

“Would they want us to write about the sorting and classes, or should we just mirror call?” Hadrian asked Draco.

“Write,” Draco said imperiously. “It will look odd if I don’t write, and I’ll include your letter with mine. Once we’ve been seen together a bit more, and you with Neville and Hermione, it won’t be so odd for you to send Hedwig with letters, but for now, we should probably be cautions.”

“You’re right,” Hadrian hugged his brother. “I’m so glad we’re together again. It was so uncomfortable, and quite frankly boring, without you.”

“I know,” Draco said seriously. “I nearly had an anxiety attack one day. Mother had to calm me down, but it was hard without you.”

Hadrian hugged Draco again and pulled him into the library cum office so they could write their letters home.

****

_Father and Mother,_

_You will be pleased to hear that I have been sorted into Slytherin. Due to your previous positions as King and Queen of Slytherin, I was accepted into the court. Duels will be on Friday for final placement. I will do the Malfoy name proud._

_Hadrian was sorted into Ravenclaw, as I’m sure you will see in his letter. Though I will miss him in Slytherin, it is for the best. We will still see each other in classes, and have already decided to do homework together whenever possible._

_We had three classes today. Muggle Studies, History of Magic, and Defense Against the Dark Arts. I’m so glad Hadrian and I had a tutor because History is just as bad as you said. Defense should have been alright as Quirrell was the Muggle Studies professor previously, but he apparently had a run-in with some vampires in Albania and is now convinced they are after him. He has taken to wearing garlic in a turban of all things, and has garlic and crosses all over his classroom. That’s useless of course, muggle superstitions, but it concerns me about the quality of instruction we will receive if he thinks dealing with dark creatures can be handled with muggle inanity. I believe Hadrian may have some questions regarding the class, but I will leave that to him._

_I will work hard to continue the high level of performance associated with the family. I love you both._

_Blessed Be,_

_Your Loving Dragon_

****

_Dear Lucius and Cissa,_

_I’m sure Draco will have mentioned that I was sorted into Ravenclaw. I appreciate all your discussions with me about my house as I feel very comfortable here and I hope it will keep me out of the headmaster’s scrutiny at least a little bit._

_We have single rooms which are ours for the entirety of our schooling. I don’t know if it was like that when you attended, but it’s nice to know that my space is mine as long as I’m here. I likely won’t be staying in the room itself, as I fear I’ve become spoiled to the size and comfort of my bed from the manor and the apartment in my trunk._

_Draco sorted into Slytherin and we are sad to be apart, but we have most of our classes together. Based on the schedule the only classes we have apart are Muggle and Wix Studies and Flying. I am glad for the tutoring as it seems some of these lessons will be substandard quality. I already have some questions regarding Defense, but I will reserve them until we can meet. Thank you for all that you have done for me in allowing me to grow and progress at a much faster rate than I think Hogwarts will allow for._

_I am thankful Severus is here if either Draco or myself need him. He warned me in our last floo call that he would have to treat me at least somewhat poorly in class, but he was certain I would be sneaky enough to alert him if I needed assistance. Or even to make my way to his office or quarters unnoticed if required._

_I miss you both._

_Blessed Be,_

_Hadrian_

****

Once they completed their letters, Draco folded them and put them away. They spent a bit longer doing the DADA homework, as useless as it was, and decided they would try to find a prefect to lead them to the owlery to send Draco’s letters and so Hadrian could visit Hedwig. There were no prefects around the Ravenclaw common room, so Draco let Hadrian lead them to the Great Hall so Draco could take him to Slytherin. 

In the Slytherin common room, Hadrian loved the window into the lake and enjoyed seeing some of the life present in it. He even thought he saw a giant tentacle. Draco took him to his room and Hadrian saw that it was in fact very nice. The rooms were larger and Draco had clearly unpacked. It looked like he had brought sheets and bed curtains from the manor, or sent Tansy to get them. His bathroom was larger and had both a bath and a shower. The bed was as comfortable as the ones in the manor which Hadrian pouted about. Draco laughed at him and they set up to play hangman while they waited for a prefect. 

Draco thought he had heard that the 5th and 7th years should be out of class by 4, so at 4:15, they made their way to the common room and Draco spotted his 5th year prefect, Gemma Farley, and asked if she would take them to the owlery. She agreed and pointed out the most direct path for them. Once they had seen their familiars, and Draco had sent Nox off with the letters, they returned to the entrance hall and went outside while it was still nice. They returned for dinner and made their way to their dorms to prepare for the next day.

\----------

###  _Tuesday, September 3, 1991_

Tuesday proved to be a longer day. The had four classes, Charms, double Transfiguration, Herbology and Potions. Professor Flitwick had fallen off his stand of books when he called Hadrian’s name. Hadrian had gotten out of his chair to assist the small professor up and politely requested to be called Hadrian rather than Harry. Flitwick was very willing to call him by his actual name, and began the class shortly after. 

Ron Weasley and another Gryffindor, Roger Malone, were late to Transfiguration. The class had been sitting quietly, waiting for Professor McGonagall, having been warned of the stern lady’s strict demeanor. A cat was sitting on the desk, swishing its tail when the two boys burst into the room. Ron had made a rather rude remark about how McGonagall would have looked if they were late when the cat jumped off the desk and transformed into the Professor herself. She took points after listening to their ridiculous excuses while the rest of the class just shook their heads, knowing they were all to have been led there by their prefects. She then lectured for an hour on the theory of transfiguration and their first spell before passing out matches and instructing them to turn the match into a needle. 

Hadrian was the first to transfigure his needle, earning ten points for Ravenclaw. Draco was next, earning five points for Slytherin. Hermione was third and received two points for Gryffindor. Each of the three then turned to assist their housemates, with each subsequent student to manage the transfiguration given one point. Neville was unable to complete the transfiguration, along with Ron and Roger from Gryffindor, and few others as well, and they were given homework to practice the transfiguration to be performed in the next lesson. Those who had managed it were given no homework, for which the procrastinating first years were thankful, and those who were prepared and had no homework were somewhat sad to have nothing to do. 

After lunch they headed out to the greenhouses for Herbology where Neville really did shine. He clearly had the touch with the plants they were repotting, and wound up earning twenty points for his house by the end of the lesson for answering questions. Hadrian was glad to see the spark of pride in Neville, having seen his poor performance in Transfiguration. He had a theory on it, but needed to talk to Draco before he could confirm it. After Herbology they sprinted back to the castle dungeons to Potions.

Professor Prince had in fact treated Hadrian a bit poorly, but he was able to answer the questions and took the measly one point for each correct answer in stride. It helped that he saw Severus wink as he passed his table during the lecture. He was looking forward to brewing in their next class and hoped he would be paired with Draco.

Their group once again returned to the library to complete their homework, and after dinner stayed in the great hall to play exploding snap for a while. When it started to get late, they all returned to their dorms.

\----------

###  _Friday, September 6, 1991_

The remainder of the week passed similarly for all the firsties. Eat, go to class led by the prefects, do homework in the library or procrastinate depending on the student, eat, return to the dorms to sleep. They had done a bit more magic in the practicals for DADA and Charms, and Hadrian and Draco were leading their year with Hermione keeping close in third. They were doing their best to help Neville who was struggling mightily, even though Draco had said his aura was far stronger than his wandwork would lead one to believe. They had discussed possibilities for what might be hindering Neville, but so far, hadn’t come up with anything.

The end of the week had come with Flying lessons for Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw at 2:00 pm and Gryffindor and Slytherin at 3:00 pm. Hadrian was extremely skilled and Madame Hooch had praised him, setting up a quidditch training ring course for him. He performed it flawlessly even with the poor quality school broom, and was windswept and quite pleased when he touched down at the end of the lesson. Draco’s lesson had apparently gone a bit worse, what with Neville breaking his wrist and being taken to the hospital wing and Draco getting into an altercation with Ron over Neville’s Remembrall. Draco had managed to get it away from the obnoxious boy, and had returned it immediately after class, but he hadn’t been able to fly much since their entire class had been grounded while Madame Hooch dealt with Neville. 

Hagrid had invited Hadrian to tea after his flying lesson, so he went, but it was the most awkward visit with extremely stilted conversation. He had taken Hermione and Draco with him, and Hagrid had seemed a bit put out that Hadrian had not arrived alone. But he rather happily introduced them to his enormous Neapolitan Mastiff, Fang, which had Draco disgusted due to the amount of slobber. Then the man was offering them tea and cakes as they sat around his rough hewn table. Hermione had reached for a cake, but when it clinked against her plate, the boys abstained. 

While they were having tea, Hermione noticed the headline on the paper, which had been sitting on the table since they sat down, about something stolen from Gringotts, and Hagrid took the opportunity to mention that it occurred the same day he had taken Hadrian to Diagon Alley. Hadrian didn’t really want to think about why Hagrid was pointing that out, but knew it had to be something related to Dumbledore, and so forced himself to pay attention. He noted everything he could so he could repeat it to Severus and resolved to have Draco set up a meeting with the man for the two of them as soon as possible. 

Finally disengaging themselves, all three having managed not to consume the horrible looking tea cakes Hagrid had offered but downing two cups of tea, they made a stop by the hospital wing to check on Neville, and then split up to return to their dorms. Hadrian whispered his request to Draco as they separated and received a slight nod when they parted at the steps.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> §Parseltongue§  
> Letters
> 
> Yes, I have a spreadsheet showing when all years have classes as well as that same schedule by teacher so I know it works. It is based on the schedule by [Levicorpus](http://www.amoebadreams.net/levicorpus/Classes.htm) which I altered to fit my needs.


	21. Chapter 20 - Sneaky Bonds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Previously: the first week of class
> 
> In this chapter: A visit with Sev and Lucius

###  _ Saturday, September 7 _

After lunch Harry made his way to the Slytherin table to talk to Draco. Professor Prince had in fact paired them together as potions partners, which they had decided to use as their excuse to be seen talking to one another. Being a Ravenclaw and Slytherin made it a bit more acceptable, but they were glad for the excuse to build on. They made inconsequential conversation regarding the potion they had made the previous day and made their way ostensibly to the library. 

Shortly before reaching the imposing double doors to that vaunted space, Draco grabbed Hadrian’s wrist, quickly looked around to make sure they would be unobserved, and pulled his brother through a secret passageway pretending to be a stone wall. Hadrian had gasped, expecting to ram face first into hard stone, but then began laughing as Draco pulled him through the twists and turns of the hall. He held up a finger as they approached the exit, Draco had whispered that it was also a fake stone wall, but would allow them to see out, before he carefully stepped up to the edge of the passageway and looked as far as he could in both directions. Not seeing anyone, he quickly pulled Hadrian out of the passage and just down the corridor where he stopped in front of a portrait of a dark-haired man who was stirring a cauldron. 

Draco rapped twice on the frame, and the painted potioneer looked up from his work, and drolly said, “Password?”

“Crystal Cauldron,” Draco whispered, indicating Harry should remember the password. 

“Welcome, young Draco, and you must be Mr. Potter,” The painting said to the two boys. 

“Hadrian, please,” Hadrian replied to the portrait.

“Hadrian, then,” The painted man responded with a nod as his frame swung silently open to allow them entrance.

“As they made their way down the hallway entrance, Draco explained to Hadrian that Severus had a set of passwords which would alert him to the type of visitor. It was complex magic, but it helped hide activity from the headmaster. Severus had told Draco the password that he and Hadrian would be required to use, and stressed the importance of keeping it a secret since students were not supposed to be able to access the teachers’ rooms. Hadrian nodded, understanding the need for extreme caution. 

They made their way to the inner entrance door and Draco again rapped twice. This time Severus’ deep voice greeted them, bidding them enter. Hadrian opened the door and they stepped into the Potions Master’s rooms. 

“Good afternoon, boys,” Severus greeted.

“Good afternoon, Uncle Sev,” they replied. 

“You were unseen?” the potions master confirmed. The boys nodded.

He allowed them several minutes to look around his rooms. Hadrian very much liked the decor as it was all dark , warm woods, dark leather and upholstery, but with a few bright touches to soften it a bit. There were several emerald green pillows on his couch, and the rug in front of the fireplace was a riot of colors. Once they had looked their fill, Severus motioned them towards the fireplace. He offered them a small bowl he had plucked from a shelf of other containers full of random things, and they each took a small handful, recognizing it was floo powder. 

“The address is Malfoy Manor, Severus Prince’s Office,” he instructed. Draco went first, followed by Hadrian, and then Severus. They arrived in a room that looked exactly like the one they had just left. Hadrian was momentarily concerned that he had somehow not gone anywhere at all, but the presence of Lucius disabused him of that notion.

Not having been in the man’s actual presence for over two months, he had forgotten the comfortable and welcoming feeling of the blonde’s magic. It washed over him like a blanket, strong and reassuring. He knew Lucius wasn’t normally one for displays of affection, but it just felt so  _ good _ , he had to run over and give the aristocratic gentleman a hug. Lucius smiled at this display, having missed the little Raven during his sojourn at the Dursleys, and now being away at school. Narcissa was understandably distressed that she had already made plans with Estella de Luca to be in Italy shopping for the day and would miss seeing her boys when Lucius told her of their impending visit. But once the greetings were over, they all sat in the room that was exactly like the Potion Master’s personal quarters at Hogwarts.

“I see,” Severus began the discussion, “that you are confused, Hadrian.”

“Well...yes. We just left your quarters at Hogwarts and arrived at a room in Malfoy Manor which is exactly the same as the room we left. I’ve never seen this room before, so yes, I’m very confused.” Draco nodded along.

“This is a safety precaution,” Severus began explaining. The headmaster can monitor all floo calls and visitors to my rooms at Hogwarts. By utilizing the separate password you two used to gain access, you put into place the first layer of protections on my room. By taking my floo with my specially formulated floo powder, we have hidden the fact that anyone left my quarters. Because I was the last person through the floo, it will also redirect any floo calls while I am out to this location.”

“So if the headmaster were to floo you while we were here, it would ring this fireplace?” Hadrian questioned.

“Exactly,” Severus gave an approving nod.

“What happens if someone knocks on your door?” Draco put in.

“I have another painting of my door guardian here. He is actually a Prince ancestor, the first Grand Master of Potions in the Prince Family, Atticus Prince. He will merely inform the visitor that I have closed my rooms for experimental brewing and he will have to check if I am available. He will visit his portrait here, and I can decide from there,” the dark eyed man replied.

After a short silence for the boys to process, Lucius changed topics, “Well, then. Hadrian, you indicated you had questions?”

“Well, yes. I suppose we can start with that. Thought Draco and I had a strange encounter with Hagrid yesterday, which was my main purpose for visiting.” Lucius nodded and Hadrian continued. “History. Why is that ghost even teaching? He hasn’t talked about anything that’s covered in our book for the first year. What is going on with that?” Hadrian burst out.

“Ah, yes, Professor Binns,” Lucius said, shaking his head. Severus was just sneering. “Cuthbert Binns was the History professor beginning in the year 1699 at 47 years of age. He taught to the relatively old age of 198 in 1850, at which point he fell asleep in the staff room, and woke up the next morning to teach, leaving his body behind. By all accounts he was a decent History professor while alive, but somehow in death, his spirit fixated on the Goblin Wars. Many have speculated that he actually died to a slow-acting goblin poison, administered by his bonded account manager who was either stealing from the man, had been offended by him, or was being forced to do unethical things, and was poisoned because of it. Whether or not these speculations are accurate, Binns has taught nothing but the goblin rebellions and wars since 1850. And Hogwarts history scores on OWL and NEWT exams have suffered for it,” Lucius finished.

“But you’re a school governor!” the green-eyed boy exclaimed. “Can’t you convince the other governors to do something about it?”

“They do not care, Hadrian,” the blond lord replied. “Several have even indicated that it adds to the magical atmosphere of the school, having a ghost teaching.”

“Ridiculous,” snorted Severus.

“Well, yes, of course it is, my friend,” Lucius soothed, “but without some other wake up call to the board, I fear they will remain uninterested. Especially with the curse on the Defense position.”

“Curse on the Defense position?” Hadrian asked. He was still ignorant of things other wix had heard in conversation, or from friends or family.

The snarky potions master took up the explanation here, “Rumor has it the Dark Lord applied for the Defense position in 1961 and was denied by Dumbledore.” He scoffed at this, knowing that the Dark Lord could be an exceptional teacher, but that Dumbledore would never have allowed it. “In his fury, he supposedly cursed the position, and no Defense professor has lasted more than a year since. Some, in fact, only lasted a matter of days.”

“I guess that isn’t really pertinent to what I wanted to ask anyway, though it is interesting.” Hadrian decided to move on. “What I really want to know is why is it Defense Against the Dark Arts? I mean, shouldn’t we be learning to defend ourselves from everything? I saw spells in my text books that I can think of several ways they could be used to harm or kill someone. Why only elemental, wandless, and ritual magic?”

“Ah, I see your confusion,” Lucius nodded, snapping his fingers for a house elf to bring tea. The elf popped in, left the tea service, waved at Hadrian, and popped out. “It is called Defense Against the Dark Arts due to Ministry classification of magic, not Magic’s classifications of magic. The Ministry has classified things it doesn’t like as Dark Magic, mainly the more powerful charms which are labeled as hexes and curses.” Lucius paused to sip his tea.

“Naturally, you have been tutored by one of the foremost tutors of the current time, and though his family is new, their study has rendered them anything but ignorant,” Severus continued. “Mr. Morgan instructed you in Magic’s classifications, based on the study of Olde texts, treatises by Merlin, LeFay, and the Hogwarts Founders. Their family has also traveled extensively and had access to numerous texts from other countries which provide even more views of magic. Mr. Morgan bases his instruction on ideas synthesized from more texts than we would ever be capable of reading and has studied and theorized with other Acclaimed historians.”

“What Severus is trying to say is that you have been given a grounded but well-rounded picture of magic based on historical facts, while Hogwarts has changed to fit the whims of the Ministry and the muggle-raised in our society,” Lucius finished succinctly.

“Yes, you should be training in defense against all types of magic, but what you will get at Hogwarts will be biased, and likely useless what with the fractured teaching due to the curse,” the potions master concluded. 

“Any other questions, Hadrian?” Lucius asked. “Draco?” when Hadrian shook his head. “Then what was that you mentioned, Hadrian, about an altercation with the groundskeeper?”

“It wasn’t an altercation,” Hadrian began, sitting up straighter. “He invited me for tea after my lessons on Friday. I took Draco and a Gryffindor girl, Hermione, with me. Neville was going to come too, but he got hurt in flying lessons and had to go to the hospital wing. So the three of us went to Hagrid's for tea. It started out normally enough, tea, cakes, meet my dog, how’s class, but Hermione saw the Daily Prophet on his table and commented about the Gringotts break-in. That paper was a month old! Why would it still be sitting on his table?” Lucius nodded to indicate he was listening, and Severus was gritting his teeth in between sips of tea. 

“Anyway, after Hermione mentioned the paper, Hagrid said something about it happening the day he took me to Diagon Alley. That shouldn’t have been important, right?” Hadrian asked somewhat desperately.

“No, it shouldn’t have,” Severus ground out. “Continue.”

“So they had a conversation about how it was crazy to break into Gringotts, nothing was taken anyway, basically just going over everything the article said. But it just seemed so out of place, I thought maybe it was something Dumbledore related. I didn’t want to have to bother you so soon, but after that tea, I had to ask Draco to set up a meeting.”

“It is good that you did,” Lucius said just as Severus said, “Oh, Dumbledore is related all right.” Lucius looked inquiringly at his long-time friend.

“Dumbledore requested that Hagrid retrieve a package from vault 713, Dumbledore’s Head of House vault, when he retrieved you. I was unaware at the time or would have warned you, but he was retrieving the Philosopher’s Stone.” Severus glanced apologetically at Hadrian before continuing, “Made by Nicolas and Perenelle Flamel, the stone can turn any base metal into pure gold, and produces the Elixir of Life, granting the person who drinks it eternal life for as long as they imbibe the potion.”

“That infernal old man put a priceless magical artifact in a SCHOOL?!?” Lucius was rapidly losing his cool.

“Indeed,” Severus continued. “He demanded that the professors for the core classes provide protections for the stone and placed it a third floor corridor which he announced at the start of term feast as being out of bounds.” Severus rolled his eyes at the headmaster’s idiocy, who tells a bunch of children  _ not _ to go somewhere and then expects them to listen?

“You jest, surely,” the silvery blue eyes of the Malfoy lord widening.

“I do not,” Severus mourned. “The protections are laughable, really. A Cerberus, Devil’s Snare, flying keys, a chess board, a troll, my potions, and a mirror. Honestly, my potions are likely the most difficult as I paired a set of seven with a riddle to be solved to locate the correct two bottles, one to allow the drinker forward, and one to allow the drinker to go back.”

“Ingenious, really,” the older blonde deadpanned as the two boys looked on in a mix of interest and horror. 

“He’s testing me,” Hadrian stated, matter-of-factly. Draco’s eyes grew wide as the adults looked at each other, each assessing Hadrian’s statement. “He has to be, that’s the only reason to have Hagrid take the stone from Gringotts while I was with him, leave a month old paper on the table, and share details about the date with people who were not involved.”

“I believe you are correct,” Lucius agreed.

“We’ll need to make sure you can handle all the  _ protections _ ,” here Severus sneered again, “and ensure you have adequate protection when meeting with the old coot for any discussion he may require of you.”

“The tests aren’t difficult, Uncle Sev,” Draco stated confidently. The eloquent eyebrow rose on both adults. “Cerberus, a Quadruple X Beast. Records indicate Orpheus entranced the original Cerberus with music, and all Cerberus since have had the same weakness.”

“Devil’s Snare,” Hadrian picked up with the next protection his heart father had mentioned, “A vining plant similar in appearance to Flitterbloom. Will send tendrils of vines to constrict its prey. Likes dark and damp, so be prepared with warmth, light, and/or fire.”

The young Slytherin continued, “Flying keys: take a broom, or learn the freezing charm to incapacitate the one needed.”

Hadrian snickered, “Chess… need I say more?” The other three men laughed.

“A troll could be slightly difficult…” Draco mused. 

“The Conjunctivitis curse perhaps? Something targeting the eyes at any rate, it’s one of the weakest points on a troll considering their skin is similar to giants and repels many spells. Spells will work, but they have to have a lot of power behind them.” Hadrian decided.

“Potions and a riddle,” Draco scoffed, “Please, Uncle Sev, the only person I know more logical than you is Hadrian. No problem there.”

“But that mirror,” Hadrian began thinking out loud. “There are several magical mirrors mentioned in various texts, but without knowing the specific mirror it could be difficult to counter. Dumbledore didn’t by chance mention which mirror he was using, did he, Severus?”

“He did, and it makes it that much worse,” Severus replied grimly. “The Mirror of Erised.”

Hadrian wrinkled his nose. “Heart’s Desire, huh? That could be difficult. Especially since very few people see the same thing from the mirror, and it has that old compulsion to stare at it which is notoriously difficult to fight off. Hmm…”

“He did mention,” the man continued, “that he would be adding additional enchantments, but did not give any sort of indication as to what those might be.”

“Lovely,” the emerald eyed boy complained. 

Lucius just rolled his eyes, while Draco chimed in, “Those aren’t much in the way of protections… I mean, a first year could get through most of them without help. The troll would be difficult, yes, and the mirror if they were weak minded...ok maybe that does rule out quite a lot of first years, but still. The Flamels have managed to keep their stone safe for over 500 years and  _ now  _ they’re worried about it?” Draco finished, joining his father in eye-rolls.

“It is definitely good that you brought us these concerns, Hadrian,” Lucius said, walking over and stroking the boy’s hair. “We will need to make sure you are as prepared as possible so as to remain safe, even with the meddling of the headmaster.”

“Just remember your Occlumency, Hadrian,” Severus reminded him. “It is imperative that you avoid the Headmaster’s direct gaze and if you must meet those annoying twinkling blue eyes, make sure your barriers are up and your memory trap is ready.”

“I practice every day, Sev,” Hadrian stated. “And my memory trap is ingenious, if I do say so myself. You’ve seen my barriers, it’s all just dark in my mindscape. So when someone attempts to breach my mind, they’re launched straight into a memory of me eating breakfast in the great hall. It goes dim, and turns into a hand-held lantern to combat the darkness. But the light is a trap and pulls on all random inconsequential memories I have of chores around the Dursleys, studying, eating, walking to class, and things like that. To find my important memories they’d have to navigate the maze I created in the dark, with random memories assaulting them due to the light. There are hidden doors, traps, and lots of dead ends. It would probably take someone a year or more to even figure out my sorting method before they’d even have a chance of navigating the maze to the location which  _ might _ hold the memory or memories they were seeking. I don’t think Dumbledore will figure it out when you couldn’t, Sev,” Hadrian said with a smirk.

“Don’t be cocky,” Severus admonished the boy, whose face fell before he continued, “but that is likely an accurate assessment. I am uncertain if even the Dark Lord could fell your defenses.”

Hadrian smiled happily, basking in the praise. The three Hogwarts bound stayed at the manor for several hours, chatting, snacking, and generally enjoying each others’ company until it was time to return to the school for dinner. Severus again pulled out the same container from a shelf of other random containers and offered them what they now knew was his own specialized floo powder. 

“Hogwarts, Severus Prince’s Quarters,” he instructed. Again, Draco went first, then Hadrian, followed by Severus. Severus bid them goodbye, and the two boys carefully made their way out of their professor’s room and back through the secret passage to the library. They made their way down from the Library to the Great Hall, talking about potions again and separated at the doors. After dinner each returned to his own dorm room to think further on the discussion from that day.


	22. Chapter 21 - Forging Bonds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Previously: A visit with Sev and Lucius
> 
> In this chapter: Halloween and a Lucius/Narcissa POV

###  _ Thursday, October 31, 1991 _

Hadrian stared around the Great Hall at dinner in shock. Bats, jack-o-lanterns, dancing skeletons? What in Merlin’s name was all this? Halloween was a muggle holiday, he certainly hoped tomorrow night would be more focused on the wixen holiday Samhain. He hadn’t heard about a bonfire, or a respectful feast with a focus on fruits and vegetables or wild game. Would they have berries, nuts, rye, and pumpernickel? What about the mulled cider and mead? He had thought Mabon was bad with no ritual to give thanks or offerings to the Crone for the plentiful harvest, but this? This was sacrilege. It was not Samhain, and he had heard nothing about a second feast the following day, or any observance of the holiday at all..

While it was considered a somewhat minor festival in comparison to Mabon, it was a time to commune with Magic and one’s ancestors, sharing accomplishments and asking for guidance. It was not these piles of candy, and while the feast was acceptable, it was not held in the traditional format, nor did it include the traditional foods. It was no wonder so few muggle-raised ever became Acclaimed if they never learned anything beyond what was covered in Wixen Studies. The class had so much to get through in two years that they only discussed the wixen holy days for two weeks, and the classes were not reinforced by the practice of the rituals. Hadrian knew those employed by Hogwarts had to be ranked to be employed. How were they managing to keep their ranking if the school was not celebrating the traditional rituals? He assumed they must be doing them separately, or by themselves. If Hadrian had been fully muggle-raised he would never have known that there true magical benefits. Disgraceful.

After his participation in the rituals with the Malfoys, the lack of them at Hogwarts was disconcerting. Hadrian wondered about it as well because they offered magical grounding which was beneficial for growing magical cores, allowing the person’s magic to be guided by Mother Magic and directed for better use. He had found spells cast in the week or so immediately following a holiday ritual were more powerful, and more easily controlled, and when he learned new spells, they came more easily due to the magical influx from the ritual. He could not understand why a school housing so many growing magical cores would ignore the benefits of the holiday rituals. He’d have to ask Severus or Lucius.

Hadrian resolved to light a seven-day candle in his dorm window to guide the spirits before he went to bed that night. It would burn throughout the day, as well as for the next several, as was required for the ritual. It wasn’t much, but maybe he’d get a glimpse of a spirit from someone in his family. He wouldn’t be able to have a bonfire out of doors, but he would send Dobby to bring him a few small pieces of wood and would have a personal fire in his cauldron. He also wouldn’t be able to celebrate with Draco, but at least it would be something. 

While Hadrian was musing over his personal ritual, preparations for the feast had begun. Chatter was loud and spirits were high. He tried to select harvest foods for his meal, and set aside a small portion of each to be offered to the spirits with his candle. The main meal was nearly over and it was almost time for dessert when Professor Quirrell came staggering into the hall.

“T-t-t-Troll!” Quirrell gasped out. “Troll in the d-d-dungeons.” He swayed. “Thought you ought to know,” he finished and then collapsed in a heap on the floor.

It was completely silent for three seconds and then pandemonium let loose. Hadrian was frantically searching through the hall to make sure his friends were accounted for. Yes, there was Draco, with Crabbe and Goyle at the Slytherin table. And there was Neville, alone at the Gryffindor table. Wait. Alone? Where was Hermione? 

BANG!

The headmaster stood tall in front of the head table, his wand raised having clearly just cast the spell which temporarily restored silence to the room.

“If we could all, please, not panic,” he said clearly. “Thank you. Prefects, you will lead your students to their dormitories in an orderly fashion. Teachers will accompany me to the dungeons to deal with the troll.”

With this, the students knew they were dismissed and prefects could be heard shouting over the growing noise levels for their houses to follow. 

Hadrian made his way to the Gryffindor table as quickly as he could in the confusion, grasping Neville’s shoulder before he could be led away.

“Where’s Hermione?” he managed to get out.

“Not sure,” Neville started, “but I heard Parvati say earlier she was crying in the bathroom down the hall. I guess Ron said something mean to her after charms.”

“Not good,” Hadrian responded. He saw Draco making his way past the two of them and reached out and stopped him as well. “Hermione is crying in the bathroom, she doesn’t know about the troll.”

“That’s bad,” Draco said immediately.

“We can’t get a prefect, they’re all leading everyone away,” Hadrian started speaking again, “and the teachers are gone looking for the troll. Stupid headmaster, I can’t believe he sent the Hufflepuffs and Slytherins to their common rooms which are IN THE DUNGEONS!” he finished angrily. 

He stopped and took a deep breath, thinking to himself. “Ok, the troll is in the dungeons, the girl’s bathroom is only a one minute walk, faster if we run,” Hadrian began plotting. “Draco, you know the conjunctivitis curse?” he checked.

“Yes,” Draco replied, nodding emphatically.

“Ok, if we see the troll... Please, Merlin, don’t let us see the troll,” here Neville whimpered, “If we see the troll, Draco you cast the conjunctivitis curse and we all run the opposite direction.” Hadrian continued. “We run straight for the girls’ loo, grab Hermione, then Draco you take that passage down to you know where and wait to give an update.” Neville looked confused, but was distracted at the next moment when Hadrian looked at him, “Neville, you’ll take Hermione and get up to Gryffindor Tower as fast as you can. Hopefully you’ll catch up with the group, but if not, go straight there and make sure Hermione gets some food. Talk to a prefect if you have to. I know Ron is a git, but Percy isn’t terrible, go to him.” Neville nodded mutely. 

The hall was almost empty. Thankfully, the girls bathroom was the opposite direction of the common rooms. The three boys shared a determined look before taking deep breaths, and running off towards the girls’ loo. They didn’t meet anything on their way, but when they made it closer to the entrance, they were assaulted with an awful smell and the sound of grunts and banging.

“I d-d-don’t think the t-troll’s in the d-d-d-dungeons anym-m-m-m-more,” Neville stuttered, fear showing on his face. Draco and Hadrian shook their heads. Just as they were about to turn and run they heard a feminine scream.

“Hermione!” Hadrian almost yelled. 

He looked to Draco and the two nodded. They ran into the bathroom and a sea of wreckage. Hermione was huddled in between two tall stone sinks, trying to avoid notice. It looked like the troll had destroyed three quarters of the bathroom trying to get to her. Harry yelled Hermione’s name. Her head snapped to the doorway, and a slight expression of relief crossed her face until she realized there were no teachers behind her friend. Draco took advantage of the troll’s distraction at Harry’s yell to fire the conjunctivitis curse right at its ugly, smooshed face. 

The spell made an impact, accurately too, but what they hadn’t planned for was the troll to go crazy and start thrashing around the room. Hermione was in danger of being trampled! Hadrian made his way carefully along the wall, and tried to grab her hand, but she seemed frozen in fear. Draco and Neville were standing in the doorway, horror struck. Hadrian was frantically searching the space for something that could help when he noticed the troll’s club laying on the floor a little ways away from them. It must have dropped it when the curse impacted. 

He released his wand from it’s holster, and with a precise swish and flick, and proper pronunciation, said “Wingardium Leviosa!” He levitated the club until it was directly over the rampaging troll and then released the spell. The club fell on the troll’s head with a rather sickening crunch and the troll swayed and fell, knocked unconscious by his own weapon.

Hadrian was finally able to assist Hermione up and Draco and Neville were checking her over for injuries when Professors McGonagall, Prince, and Quirrell, as well as Headmaster Dumbledore appeared at the door. 

They were all looking around the room in shock, but Professor McGonagall recovered first. “What in the name of Merlin happened here?” she bit out.

Hermione began to speak, “It was my fault, professors.”

Hadrian cut in, wanting to explain, “When Professor Quirrell alerted us about the troll I checked the Great Hall for my friends. Draco and Neville were there, but Hermione was missing. I grabbed Neville to ask where she was and he said she was in the bathroom crying because Ronald Weasley bullied her after charms. She didn’t know about the troll. The prefects were already gone, and so were all the teachers. I thought it would be safe enough, the troll was supposed to be in the dungeons, and the bathroom was a one minute walk away, faster if we ran. We ran. We saw the troll and were getting ready to run away but we heard Hermione scream. I had already told Draco to cast the conjunctivitis curse if we saw the troll, so I yelled to distract it, and Draco cast the curse. The troll started rampaging, so I sneaked along the wall and tried to get Hermione to come out so we could get out of here, but she was frozen, and Draco and Neville didn’t have any other ideas, so I used ‘wingardium leviosa’ to levitate its club over its head and dropped it on top of him.”

The professors blinked at the rapid recitation.

“Be that as it may,” Professor McGonagall began, “it was very irresponsible of you.”

“Irresponsible?” Hadrian cut in incredulously. “Irresponsible of me?” He repeated, in shock. “Irresponsible is sending half the school toward the last known location of a threat, or did everyone just  _ happen  _ to forget that the Hufflepuffs and Slytherins live in the dungeons? Irresponsible is sending away all forms of authority before ensuring all students were accounted for. Irresponsible is NOT making the best of a bad situation, having a plan, and executing it in the face of what was supposed to be limited danger.” Hadrian was seething at this reprimand and couldn’t prevent himself from spilling his thoughts.

Professor McGonagall looked taken aback, as did the now not-so-twinkling-eyed headmaster.

Professor Prince gave a nearly imperceptible wink and began speaking, “While I do not in any way condone a student putting themselves into danger, I believe Mr. Potter  _ may  _ have a point. They were operating under the assumption the threat was in a completely different area of the castle and when that turned out to not be the case, chose to protect a fellow student in the absence of other assistance. It was foolhardy and rash, but then I suppose his  _ Gryffindor heritage  _ had to come out at some point,” Severus finished with a sneer.

“Now, now, Severus,” the headmaster began, twinkle reappearing in his eyes, “the boy is descended from two very proud Gryffindors, and it speaks to his character that he would choose to protect a fellow student. He has, after all, protected our world before, perhaps it is simply ingrained in him to protect his fellows?” 

Severus huffed when Dumbledore clapped his hands and continued, “Therefore, twenty points will be awarded to each of you, Mr. Malfoy, Mr. Longbottom, and Mr. Potter, for outstanding bravery in locating and protecting a fellow student. Minerva, if you will escort your two lions to their common room, and ensure Miss Granger has a calming draught and dreamless sleep potion available should she need it?” 

The witch nodded and Dumbledore continued, “And Severus, you may escort Mr. Malfoy to his common room.” Severus humphed again as Dumbledore finished, “and I shall escort young Mr. Potter while Quirinius deals with the troll.”

Hadrian rolled his eyes mentally at the headmaster getting him alone, but followed along. He knew Draco would give Severus the full details, and he would just have to be careful about what he said to the headmaster. He had already expressed his anger over sending two houses toward the threat, he couldn’t afford to be seen disagreeing with the headmaster further at this point in time.

“Well, my boy,” Dumbledore began speaking when they were a corridor away from the bathroom, “That was quite an adventure you had. Not many first years would be able to take on a fully grown mountain troll and survive.”

“Yes, sir,” Hadrian responded, irritated at being called ‘boy’ in any form, but knowing he had to say something.

“And the conjunctivitis curse, what made you think of that? That’s usually not discussed until third year, and practiced until fourth,” Dumbledore continued his questioning.

‘Bugger,’ Harry thought. “Draco and I saw it in a book earlier in the year and he bragged he could do it. I was reading a book on trolls just a few weeks ago and saw that their skin was similar to giants in that it could repel lots of spells, but their eyes were a weakness. I dunno why it popped into my head, but it worked,” Hadrian bluffed, sheepishly, keeping his eyes averted, wary of the possible use of legilimency.

“Indeed it did, my boy, indeed it did,” Dumbledore muttered. “But then you’ve just learned the levitation charm in class, recently, have you not?”

“Oh, yes, sir!” Hadrian gushed, playing the excited student. “We were working on the spell in double charms just today. Professor Flitwick finished the theory in Tuesday’s lesson and today was all practice. We started with feathers, and then he let us do parchment, books, and desks. Draco, Hermione, and I were the only once to get to desks though.”

“I see,” Dumbledore twinkled. “Well, it is good you are safe, my boy.”

Hadrian nodded, and then decided to ask about the headmaster’s instructions. After his outburst about it he didn’t think it would be too much of a problem.

“Headmaster?” Dumbledore looked at his student as Hadrian continued, “Why did you send Slytherin and Hufflepuff to their dorms?”

Dumbledore sighed, “Yes, I’m sure it looked most odd to you, however the teachers and I took a shortcut to the dungeons and ensured the route to the two common rooms was clear before the students were anywhere near them. You couldn’t have known that, but there are always safeguards in place.”

Hadrian nodded, not really believing him, since there were supposed to be wards preventing things like trolls from being in the school in the first place, but he figured if one had been brought in to guard the stone, it wasn’t such a stretch another might have been as well. 

They finished the walk in silence and Dumbledore dropped him off at the Ravenclaw common room saying, “Good night, Harry, my boy.”

“Goodnight, Headmaster,” Hadrian replied, seething internally at the familiar address and hated ‘boy.’

Hadrian made his way to his dorm, uncaring that the feast had continued via the house elves’ efforts to shift the meal to the common room. He followed the plan he had decided on at dinner for his personal start of the Samhain ritual, hoping it would steady him from the excitement of the troll, and prepare him for whatever was to come. He didn’t think the headmaster had orchestrated this particular confrontation, but he was certain there would be another soon. Once he was done, his magic felt calmer and he cuddled up with Zils, and his stuffed wolf, grim, and stag, and drifted off to sleep.

\----------

###  _ Later that evening, Malfoy Manor _

“They WHAT!?!” Narcissa cried, after hearing of the evening’s events from Severus. 

He had come through the floo after speaking with Draco and lost no time calling his elf Amaranth to fetch the Malfoys. He explained everything he knew of the situation from Draco, and the plan Hadrian had concocted to minimize the risks in alerting their female friend. 

“I know it is distressing, but they have already done it, and are luckily no worse for the wear,” Severus tried to soothe his lady love.

“But...but…” Narcissa could barely string two thoughts together, let alone words.

“I know, sweet, I know,” Severus gathered her into his arms and stroked her back in an attempt to calm the distraught mother.

“This is an unfortunate situation,” Lucius commented. “Draco has shown himself capable of more than first or second year spells, and Hadrian has questioned the headmaster in the presence of others.”

“Our son, and our charge were in imminent danger of possible death, and you are concerned for your plots!?!” Narcissa nearly shrieked from her place next to the potions master’s ear.

“I do not discount the danger they were in, Narcissa,” the blonde lord replied, “but as Severus pointed out, there is nothing we can do to prevent it now. It is time we begin planning for any damage control that may be necessary so that Draco and Hadrian are not placed under further scrutiny, and possibly into further situations which may bring them to harm.”

Narcissa huffed, “I suppose you are correct, but my son, my baby, my dragon facing...a...a troll of all things! They are supposed to be safe at school, there are wards to prevent this sort of thing,” she finished exasperated.

“They have been taken down.” Severus said.

“They have...Been taken...Down?” Lucius could not have heard his friend correctly.

“Correct,” his friend replied.

“Dumbledore has not followed the appropriate procedures. He is required to alert the board of any change to the castle’s ward scheme.” Lucius was in full on Lord Malfoy, Hogwarts Governor mode. “We can use this.”

“We can?” Narcissa asked her husband.

“Well,” Lucius thought for a moment, “Not immediately, no. We need to talk with Hadrian, get his version of events to ensure we have all the details. See what the students write home to their parents regarding the situation. We could use a public outcry about the troll to force a ward check, which would get him into trouble with the governors.”

The other two nodded.

“What I am concerned about is that he sent two houses to their dormitories in the last known area of the threat,” Narcissa continued the conversation. “All those children would have been in significant danger had the troll been where it was purported to be.”

“Yes, and I’m sure there will be words with Quirrell on his intelligence,” Severus said darkly. “If Dumbledore does not, I will.”

“I am certain the boys will write, so let us adjourn until we have further details to discuss,” Narcissa suggested.    
  


“Indeed,” Lucius confirmed, exiting the room to give the lovers some privacy. He knew Severus would not be able to stay long, needing to return to the snakes, but a few stolen minutes would help calm him. As he made his way to his wing of the manor, he thought over the information Severus had provided. He could not explain the level of terror that had gripped him when he was told that Hadrian and Draco, in the company of Neville Longbottom had faced off against a troll. He was proud of his dragon for the successful curse, but his nerves were still humming lightly over the thought of Hadrian being injured trying to reach the girl, and then having to knock the brute out with its own club. He shuddered at the image, and resolved to drink a very large brandy. If he couldn’t sleep, he could at least be drunk.


	23. Chapter 22: Tempering Bonds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Previously: Halloween and a Lucius/Narcissa POV
> 
> In this Chapter: Neville has magic issues, a discussion about a stone, and the Yule holiday

###  _ Friday, December 13, 1991 _

Time passed swiftly for the now solidified friend group of Hadrian, Draco, Neville, and Hermione. Their experience in saving Hermione from the troll had reinforced the budding friendship, and the four were now nearly inseparable. They had even begun eating at the others’ house tables on a rotation. Breakfast was typically taken with the Slytherins, who were least likely to hex them in the morning, lunch was with Ravenclaw since it was the most well attended, and dinner at Gryffindor. They had watched carefully and the Gryffindor table was only half full regardless of time during the dinner hours. So they claimed a spot near the doors which was always empty, and had their dinner there. Professors Prince, McGonagall, and Flitwick had watched this change, which was due to their students, with interest. 

Hadrian, Draco, and Hermione were leading their year, much to the disgruntlement of the other Ravenclaws who were peeved that a Slytherin and Gryffindor were also in the top three. Neville was doing well with the theory, but his shoddy practical work was hindering him. The group gathered in their hidden corner of the library one cold day in December when all their work was complete to discuss things.

Draco got the attention of the young herbologist, “Neville?” 

“Hmm,” Neville hummed. “Yes, Draco?”

“Hadrian and I have been trying to figure something out all term,” he told the shy boy.

“Oh?” Neville asked.

“And we decided to just ask you,” Draco finished rather lamely, looking at Hadrian for assistance.

Hadrian rolled his eyes, but saved his friend, “Neville, we think there’s something interfering with your magic.”

That got the boy’s attention. “What?” he exclaimed, surprised.

“Shhhhh!” Hermione hissed, “We don’t want to disturb anyone or bring down Madame Pince on ourselves!”

“I put up a silencing charm, Hermione,” Hadrian smiled, but then turned back to Neville. “Your theory work is great! Don’t think we don’t see how hard you’re working, it shows.” Neville nodded. “But when it comes to wandwork, you’re floundering. We’ve worked with you, gotten permission to use empty classrooms to practice, and even asked Professor McGonagall and Flitwick to watch us and try to offer pointers. You’re doing everything technically right, but it isn’t working.”

“Yes,” Neville responded, unsure what to say.

“So I’ve been watching you,” Draco rejoined the discussion. “I mentioned I’m an aura reader?” The rest nodded. “Well, I’ve watched you with my aura-sight since almost the beginning of the term. In Charms, Transfiguration, Defense; different classes, different times of day, different spells. You’re doing everything right, but not getting results. I’d like to talk to my parents about it.” Draco finally spit out the only resolution he and Hadrian had been able to come up with.

“Question, Neville,” Hadrian asked, “Did you get your inheritance test at Gringotts when you turned ten?” He nodded. “Did you read it?” A negative response. Harry groaned, “I really think you should be tested again. I can’t say why unless you two have  _ really  _ good Occlumency barriers, but some things I know about could be contributing to your issues.”

“Could there be something the matter with his wand?” Hermione asked.

“No,” Draco said decisively. “The wand chooses the wizard, after all.”

“What do you mean?” Neville asked.

Draco’s eyes widened and he and Hadrian exchanged a look. “Neville, where did you get your wand?”

“My gran gave it to me,” Neville replied.

“So you didn’t go to Ollivander's, Gregorovitch in Germany, Cosme Acajor in France, or any other wand maker for your wand?” Draco asked, his spirit falling.

“No, my gran gave me this wand. It was my father’s,” he finished proudly.

“Well, there’s the problem,” Draco said, slumping back in his chair. “Or at least part of it,” he said, remembering the magical blocks. He couldn’t think of anything else that would stop power like Neville’s from functioning properly. Their group had spoken about the magical rituals and everything, so he knew it wasn’t some sort of magical punishment on Neville. For Merlin’s sake, Magic didn’t even punish anyone until they were at least seventeen years old anyway!

“My wand is a problem?” Neville asked, crestfallen.

Hadrian patted his friend on the back and began to explain since Neville looked crushed and Hermione looked confused. “The wand chooses the wizard, Neville. You’re trying to use a wand that didn’t choose you, it chose your father. You aren’t exactly like your father, and your magic isn’t exactly like his. Merlin, it couldn’t possibly be, you’re half your father and half your mother! It doesn’t mean that you aren’t good enough or anything like that. When a person dies it takes a long time for their wand to give up it’s allegiance to its original owner. Did you get a family wand to practice with when you turned ten?”

“No. I didn’t do any accidental magic until I was eight, and my gran didn’t want me to blow anything up,” Neville responded depressed. “And my dad’s not dead.”

Draco’s eyes widened, “Neville, I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to bring all this up…” the blond trailed off, unsure how to comfort his friend.

“It’s ok,” the boy sighed. “I’m mostly used to it.” Seeing Hadrian and Hermione’s confused faces, he continued, “My parents were tortured to insanity by Bellatrix LeStrange,” he flashed a regretful look at Draco, “Rudolphus and Rabastan LeStrange, and Bartemius Crouch Junior. They are in St. Mungo’s Janus Thickey Ward for permanent spell damage, long term residents.”

“Oh, Neville,” Hermione wailed, jumping up and running around the table to hug her friend. “I’m so sorry!”

Neville patted her awkwardly on the back. Hadrian was thinking hard.

“Neville...” Hadrian pulled his focus away from Hermione, “I think that could actually make it worse.”

“Why?” the brunette asked.

“You’re trying to use a wand whose allegiance is still attached to the original owner, and that is compounded by the fact that  _ the owner isn’t dead _ . That means the bond between wand and wizard is still there. It hasn’t even begun to break because the wizard hasn’t broken it. The wand wasn’t won from him, so you didn’t force an allegiance change either. You HAVE to get a new wand.”

“But…”

“No buts, Nev, you must have a new wand. You’re sabotaging your magical education, and could possibly do irreparable damage to your core by trying to work with a wand that isn’t yours,” Hadrian was almost whispering with the shocking impact of what they’d learned.

“But Gran said it was fine, that his wand would work…” Neville had never been more confused in his life. And that was saying something.

“Neville, I don’t know why she told you that, she’s of an Ancient House, she should  _ know _ that isn’t the case.” Hadrian pondered this new development. “I’m not saying it was on purpose, I’m just saying you could hurt yourself. Could you get to Gringotts over break for an inheritance test? And to get money for a wand?” He pressed a bit.

“Well, not by myself,” Neville said doubtfully. “Gran keeps my key…”

“What if I invited you over the day after Yule?” Draco interjected.

“That might work,” Neville said, still somewhat unsure.

“Look,” Hadrian continued, “Professor Prince is going to get me to Malfoy Manor for Yule, and I would be willing to stay the day after to go to Gringotts with you. This is really important. You can use your heir- right to ensure your gran isn’t alerted, but we could get your test and I bet the Malfoys would pay for your wand so your gran wouldn’t see the withdrawal. This is  _ really _ important, Nev.”

“Oh,” Hermione bounced a bit, “Do you think I could come, too, Draco? You mentioned on the train I should’ve had an inheritance test as well.”

“It should be fine. I’ll write to my parents tonight to check and let you know as soon as they respond,” Draco smiled.

“Now that’s taken care of,” Hermione put on her lecture mode, “we need to discuss what happened over the weekend.”

“The Cerberus,” Hadrian groaned.

“The stairs that took us there with no warning, and not on their usual pattern of shifting,” Draco added.

“Exactly,” Hermione said, while Neville whimpered. “You said you knew something,” she continued staring at Hadrian.

“We both know about it,” Hadrian conceded. If he didn’t, Hermione would just poke at him and Draco until they spilled. He’d rather just get it over with. 

“What is it?” She demanded.

“Ok, before I tell you, we need to discuss a couple of things.” Hermione nodded, and poked Neville so he would nod as well. “One: You cannot look the headmaster in the eyes. He is a legilimens, and if he finds out that you know, it will cause all sorts of problems.”

“I don’t look anyone in the eyes,” Neville said morosely.

“But…” Hermione began, but seeing Hadrian’s implacable look, hung her head and replied, “Okay.”

“Two: You need to read up on Occlumency and start meditating. It will help you build barriers in your mind and then you would be able to look at the headmaster’s eyes for a little while. Yes, Hermione, I can get you a book,” he finished in fond amusement. They both nodded.

“Three: You cannot talk about this anywhere but with Draco and I, and only if we have silencing barriers up.” Nods again.

“Fine then. Draco and I knew about the Cerberus because Severus warned us the first week of school. I knew Dumbledore was planning to test me, don’t ask, once you have mastered Occlumency we can discuss it,” he forestalled Hermione’s questions, “and so we expected he would do something to ensure I was following his plan for me. You remember when we visited Hagrid at the beginning of the year? He had a month old paper laying on his table, didn’t that strike you as odd? And he pointed out the theft occurred the day he took me shopping, who cares? He also took the package out of the vault while I was with him, which, if it were truly a secret, he should not have done. Dumbledore got me alone after the troll incident and asked some possibly probing questions. He did something with the mail to prevent news about the troll from getting out. I know Draco and I wrote to Lucius and Narcissa but they never responded. We passed messages through Professor Prince and they got our letters, but something happened to them on the way because when Lucius and Cissa read them, they didn’t mention the troll at all. They were upset, thinking we tried to hide it from them. We had to give Severus copies to take to them to verify. Anyway, all of that to say, we know why the Cerberus is there and we know what it’s guarding. It’s the Philosopher’s Stone.”

“Oh,” Hermione breathed. “I’ve read about Nicholas Flamel…”

“Right,” the group laughed at Hermione having read about something. “Anyway, I think he was concerned I wasn’t following up on his plans, and so he forced us to see it. It’s meant to make me curious and try to figure out what’s there. But I already know about what’s there, and I know what all the protections are. I have a plan, but he didn’t know that, so he forced the issue.”

“I’m starting to see why you don’t trust the headmaster,” Hermione said thoughtfully. “It makes sense though, with everything you’ve pointed out.”

“And Severus told me afterward, but apparently Quirrell let in the troll, and used it as a distraction to go to the third floor. I don’t think he knew what was there, and so doubled back, but Severus saw him coming back,” Draco said smugly.

“Professor Quirrell is after it?” Neville was shaking a bit now.

“I feel weird in his classes. It’s familiar, and I know I should know what it is, but whenever he looks at me I get this strange feeling…” Hadrian trailed off. He had been thinking about the strange sensation since it first happened, but was no closer to figuring it out. 

“Severus knows Quirrell is after the stone, and he’s certainly passed that on to Dumbledore. I know we discussed him doing so.” Draco continued, “We know Hadrian will have to go after it, we just aren’t sure when. You’ll have to be prepared if we’re together, or understand it’s coming.”

“Alright,” Hermione replied. Neville just nodded. He hoped he wasn’t with them when the time came…

\----------

###  _ Friday, December 20, 1991 _

Hadrian waved his friends goodbye on their last morning at school before break. Neville and Hermione had been invited to spend Monday at Malfoy Manor, so they would be together again soon. Severus would be taking Hadrian out of the castle on Saturday evening after dinner to participate in Yule at the manor, and would return him before dinner on Monday. He would only need to say he wasn’t feeling well if anyone asked where he had been.

Hadrian spent Friday and Saturday with his soon to be full-familiars. Hedwig had flown up to his window and nibbled his ear until he took her to his flat. She also enjoyed the habitat he made for Zils and the two had made friends. Zils had finally reached his full size and was difficult to carry around unless he used shrinking charms, which the snake did not enjoy. Since he could not spend as much time with either of them anymore, he was happy to do so during the break. 

He also worked on his Yule presents for his family and friends. He had knitted matching hats, scarves, and gloves with mitten flaps in Gryffindor red and gold for Hermione and Neville. He also worked the Gryffindor lion into the back of the mittens and put their initials on the scarves. He knew with his thread magic they would stay nice and warm, but not too warm, and would comfortably fit his friends for years to come. Draco had very much liked Hadrian’s eagle on his bag, and had jumped at the chance to have a snake on his own. With that in mind, Hadrian decided to make him a green silk cloak with moving silver snakes at the hem and the Slytherin emblem on the breast.

The adults had been harder, but he found the perfect gift for Severus in one of his potions owl order catalogues. He had found a kit with several different kinds of snake venom and skin, along with unicorn horn and phoenix tears. The pride of the kit was a 5 mL bottle of basilisk venom, which was extremely rare and very expensive. For Lucius he had found a set of political treatises the man did not yet have in his library, which he knew because he sent Dobby to have the Malfoy house elves check. And for Narcissa, he had created a simple winter dress in a deep emerald velvet, cap sleeves and scoop necked, with small winter berries and foliage twined around the waist. It was a simple decoration, but suited Narcissa’s understated style. His tailoring masters had owled him about a cloak they had when he sent pictures for their feedback. It matched well, being of simple ivory silk with a fur edge, and small cluster of the same winter berries and foliage Hadrian had embroidered on the dress as a brooch. Hadrian had passed that information to Severus, who was only too happy to have a ready-made gift for his love.

He didn’t leave out his familiars either, having purchased a protection band in platinum for Hedwig, and a new tree for Zils’ habitat along with several fat rabbits. He carefully wrapped all his gifts with the assistance of his loyal elf, Dobby, who took them to storage for him. When the little elf returned, Hadrian presented him with a new pair of pants and smart shirt for his uniform. Hadrian made the pieces for his elf himself, depicting the elf’s love of clothes in a small personal crest he created of a sock wearing a hat and scarf. Dobby burst into tears and hugged his master for a long time before he would let the boy go to bed.

\----------

###  _ Saturday, December 21, 1991 _

Upon arrival at Malfoy Manor, Hadrian was quickly grasped in a flurry of hugs by Narcissa, who had missed the boys terribly. Draco had been subject to the same treatment upon his arrival on Friday, and merely smirked at Hadrian’s distress. When Cissa finally released him, he hugged Lucius and Draco before the group made their way to the family parlour to catch up.

“Now that we’re all here,” Lucius began with a smirk at his son, “perhaps you will be so good as to explain why we are hosting a Light Wizard and muggle-raised girl in our home this season?” Lucius looked pointedly and Draco and Hadrian who were seated together on a sofa. “Draco has refused to discuss it.”

So Hadrian and Draco began telling the adults about what they talked about with Hermione regarding her inheritance test and Gringotts, and how she had come to not have one in the first place. Then they launched into a recounting of the discussion with Neville about his magic from the library the previous week. The adults were concerned about the boy and the possible damage to his magic, but were convinced their boys had done the right thing in getting him to them for help. Narcissa agreed to accompany the boy and pay for his wand after Lucius and the boys assisted Hermione and Neville with their tests. They weren’t sure who the Longbottom account manager was, but would take him to their own manager and use the boy’s heir-right to prevent any information from being leaked. Once they had determined the plans for Monday, they retired to sleep to be rested for the Yule celebration the following day.

\----------

###  _ Sunday, December 22, 1991 _

Yule morning dawned bright, and snow dusted the ground. Hadrian was looking forward to the day, and had Dobby assist him to pick out warm clothes for the festivities ahead. Once he was dressed, he joined the family in the dining room where the elves had prepared a full English breakfast as their masters would be tromping about in the woods for the morning. Narcissa had decorated the manor with holly, mistletoe, and evergreens, and had glossy red and green apples scattered about in maple bowls to celebrate the season. The entire family enjoyed the decorations as they made their way to the rear of the manor, and outside to the forest. Clad in their hats, scarves, and mittens, all handmade presents from Hadrian at previous Yule celebrations, they donned their winter cloaks and boots, and the family made their way through the forest looking for a newly felled tree.

Not too long after, they found a likely looking one, a maple, Severus had said with a smile. Lucius and Narcissa had merely nodded, pleased that their celebration had been blessed by Lady Magic before it truly even began. Severus and Lucius had raised their wands and began to recite the yule log blessing:

_ Long winter nights are dark, High above the hunters ride, _

_ And wild the wind that whips the snow In the dark outside. _

_ Yet we will not lose heart, And on the darkest night _

_ To show that we do not forget, The yule log shall burn bright. _

_ And the Sun shall rise again, And the sun shall rise again, _

_ The sun shall shine again. _

_ Though winter frost lies thickly, And winter trees are bare _

_ Beneath the snows earth´s bounty Still waits for all to share. _

_ Though winter beasts are sleeping, And winter breath is white _

_ In springtime all shall waken to A new year´s warmth and light. _

_ And the Sun shall rise again, And the sun shall rise again, _

_ The sun shall shine again. _

_ Though giants walk the out-world, Still we shall not fear _

_ For we will feast the merry gods At the turning of the year. _

_ So merry pass the wassail, And on the darkest night _

_ To show that we do not forget, The yule log shall burn bright. _

_ And the Sun shall rise again, And the sun shall rise again, _

_ The sun shall shine again. _

When they finished the blessing poem, a perfect yule log sat in front of the two men. The family cheered their success, and all lifted a hand to carry the yule log home. Lunch was a smaller meal in preparation for the feast to come. They exchanged their gifts after lunch, and enjoyed spending time together after.

Hadrian was especially pleased with his gifts this year. Severus had gotten him a rare potions text and an intricately carved chest with extensive preservation charms to store his most rare ingredients. He didn’t have anything worth putting in the chest yet, but knew he would eventually. Draco had received a similar gift, and the boys happily compared their boxes and discussed possible ingredients they could store in them. Narcissa had gifted him a new cloak and a set of winter dress robes for the feast later. He was excited to wear them, and inspect them to add to his growing repertoire in tailoring later. Lucius had been more practical and gotten him books on managing finances and estates property. While he couldn’t do anything specific until his seventeenth birthday, he was still studying.

Their time of relaxation ended at 4 pm when Tink popped in to remind Narcissa that the feast was in two hours. They all scattered to their rooms to bathe and dress. Each was taking a ritual bath of renewal in preparation for the festivities, and all had new robes for the day. Dobby had prepared Hadrian’s robes, so when he stepped out of the bath, everything was ready for him. He finished his preparations at 5:45 and made his way to the family parlour once again. The group gathered and carried the yule log to the formal dining room, which they only used for rituals or parties. They placed the log in the fireplace and Lucius, as head of the house, lit it. They each bowed and thanked Mother Magic for her blessings and made their way to the table. 

Each plate had a smaller plate for their offering set to the side. Hadrian took some of everything, and placed a small bit on the offering plate. They had apple roasted pork, mixed winter squash, a jellied winter berry salad, a lettuce salad, sweet potatoes, and a variety of bread rolls. Dessert was apple pie, and fresh berries from the Malfoy greenhouses. They had mulled cider and apple mead to drink. When their meal was over, each person made their way back to the Yule log, and poured their offering into the fire. Lucius raised a silver chalice of mulled mead, thanking Mother Magic again for her blessings. He took a sip from the cup and passed it to the next person. Each member of the family thanked Mother magic and sipped from the cup before the final person, Hadrian, since he was the youngest, poured the remaining mead over the fire. Magic rushed through the participants, and each could feel the pleasure in it, and joyful blessings the mother had bestowed. 

They sent the elves to gather their outdoor things again, and each had a silver ever-full chalice of mulled mead to carry with them. They made their way to the apple orchard and split up. Each of them took to their assigned rows, and spoke a blessing over each tree: Apple tree, apple tree, I have come to wassail thee, Bear this year and next year to bloom and to blow, Hat fulls, cap fulls, three cornered sack fulls, Hip, Hip, Hip, hurrah, Holler boys, holler hurrah! When they completed the blessing, they poured a small amount of the mead over the roots, and bowed three times before moving on to the next. This took quite a while, and it was after ten o’clock that they finished and gathered together at the entrance of the orchard. Lucius tapped each chalice with his wand, removing the ever-full spell and the group poured out the remaining mead at the threshold gate. They spoke the blessing once more together and the adults raised their wands to guide the golden net of magic they had conjured with the individual blessings to surround the trees. They bowed a final three times and returned to the house for another glass of the hot mulled cider, and to enjoy the warmth of the Yule log fire. 

They said their goodnights shortly before midnight. At midnight, the fire gutted out and the remaining log split into 5 pieces. Each took a piece, and retreated to their room to place the piece of log under their bed. Each offered a personal thanks to Mother Magic for her protection, and asked that protection be renewed before bowing to the bed three times. Once that was complete, they were free to retire to bed and sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I borrowed the yule log poem which was written by [Wyrdswell](http://www.odins-gift.com/poth/XYZ/yulelogsong.htm).


End file.
